SACM / MAS Modele 1935

History

The French military will inevitably seek semi-automatic pistols as the standard weapon in their service (unlike the tried and true revolvers). Therefore, in the late 1930s, it was necessary to try to find this pistol, and the final winner became the SACM "Modele 1935A".

However, given the increasing likelihood of a full-scale war with neighbouring Germany, the delivery of this weapon prompted the French authorities to also consider the Modele 1935A's competitor, the MAS "Modele 1935S".

Trials were conducted between 1935 and 1937, and although the two pistols may appear similar in appearance, they are essentially very different designs with no interchangeability of parts between them. These guns are based on the excellent Colt Model 1911 and their design lines and operation show this influence.

SACM Swiss-born Charles Petter (also a former captain of the French Foreign Legion) went a step further and developed the Type 1911 approach by making several improvements to the design, namely in the recoil spring case, magazine safety and separate The castle and hammer mill in sub-components. The weapon is loaded with a native 7.65mm long magazine and is fed from a detachable 8-round magazine in the base of the grip. The slides are smooth and relatively featureless, presenting a very clean and elegant product.

The grip adopts the usual grip pattern for a secure grip, with the solid trigger assembly in a thin integrated ring. The end result was the functional Modele 1935A, the design of which was also purchased by the Swiss gun manufacturer SIG in 1937 and renamed the "SIG P210" model.

Production of the Modele 1935A was scheduled for 1937, but deliveries were slow - first batches arrived in late 1939, and by the time Germany invaded France in the summer of 1940, only 10,700 were available. The SACM factory eventually fell under German control, and pistol production continued. This led the Germans to call the weapon the "Pistole 625(f)", and an additional 23,850 were manufactured during the occupation (which lasted until mid-to-late 1944). An additional 50,400 Model 1935A guns were added after the war, and production continued until the early 1950s.

In total, approximately 85,000 Model 1935A guns were built.

Due to the slow rate at which the 1935A entered the hands of the French Army, MAS was contracted to manufacture its competitor as early as 1938. The gun partially follows the lines of the 1935A, but includes a ribbed slide, a barrel that protrudes slightly at the muzzle end, and an exposed hammer. All other qualities were consistent with the semi-automatic pistol design of the time, and the weapon proved to be well-made and powerful. Deliveries of Modele 1935S first appeared in early 1939, but the German occupation of the MAS factory again limited the initial batch to 1,400 units. Unlike the Modele 1935A, the Modele 1935S was not produced during the German occupation of France, mainly because the MAS employees concealed the required production equipment from the occupiers.

After the liberation of France in 1944, the Modele 1935S resumed production along with the Modele 1935A. 6,686 pistols were added, but the MAS factory's priorities shifted to the more pressing small arms needs of the French army.

Other factories produced a total of 82,773 Model 1935S pistols before the end of 1956.

These guns had no other use than French and Nazi German stockpiles. These pistols were used in combat during the First Indochina War (1946-1954) and the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962).

Specification

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