World War II Database

Country of Origin	France
Type	Handgun
Caliber	7.650 mm
Capacity	8 rounds
Length	194.000 mm
Barrel Length	110.000 mm
Weight	0.670 kg
Muzzle Velocity	340 m/s

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe MAS M1935A semi-automatic handgun design, by Swiss designer Charles Petter of Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Saint-Étienne (MAS), won the French military competition of 1935-1937. Among the designs it defeated was the similar but distinct MAS M1935S design. After Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques (SACM) simplified the M1935A design for ease of manufacturing, mass production began in 1937. The first delivery to the French Army was made in late 1939. Between 1937 and 1940, when the Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques factory was taken over by the Germans, 10,700 examples were made. The Germans continued the production under the new desgination of Pistole 625 (f) and built a further 23,850 examples. Production continued through the return of French sovereignty; this final period of MAS M1935A production, which lasted until Feb 1950, saw the completion of 50,400 more examples.

Sources:
Ian Hogg, The Encyclopedia of Infantry Weapons of World War II
Wikipedia ww2dbase

Last Major Revision: Jul 2014

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