  the mat-49 was a submachine gun which was developed by french arms factory manufacture nationale d'armes de tulle (mat) for use by the french army and was first produced in 1949. ==development== in 1949, after evaluating several prototypes (including a collapsible design from hotchkiss), the french mat factory began production of the mat-49 9&nbsp;mm submachine gun. the mat-49 used a machine stamping process which allowed the economical production of large numbers of submachine guns, then urgently required by the french government for use by army, french foreign legion as well as airborne and colonial forces. production continued at tulle until the mid-1960s, then switched to the manufacture d'armes de st-etienne plant (mas), where the weapon was produced until 1979. in that same year, the french armed forces adopted the famas 5.56 mm assault rifle, and the mat-49 was gradually phased out of service. ==usage==   the mat-49 saw widespread combat use during the first indochina war and the algerian war, as well as the 1956 suez crisis. the weapon found considerable favor with airborne and mechanized troops, who prized it for its simplicity, ruggedness, firepower and compactness. after french forces left indochina, the people's army of vietnam an
7.62_mm_firearms 7.62x25mm_Tokarev_firearms 9mm_Parabellum_firearms Cold_War_weapons_of_France Infantry_weapons_of_the_Cold_War Submachine_guns_of_France