MAS36

A new rifle adopted on the eve of the Second World War, the MAS36 was intended only as a stopgap until a suitable semi-automatic was available.

The MAS36, shown with a box of original ammunition and loaded stripper clips, as well as a 1939 French mess kit

A rifle originally intended as a stopgap, the MAS36 was simply intended to bridge the gap between the outdated rifles in French service and an as-yet unready semi-automatic design. Despite this, it would be the final rifle design to enter production before the fall of the Third Republic, and would later serve on in various forms for the ensuing decades around the French Empire.

The 7.5x54mm cartridge

France had ignited one of the greatest arms races in history when the Lebel rifle was adopted in 1886, becoming the first smokeless powder firearm to enter service. Despite this quantum leap in propellant, the rifle itself quickly became dated, as the Germans and others developed smokeless powder rifles with superior design qualities than those of the tube-fed Lebel. An effort to create a better carbine had led to the Mannlicher-style Berthier rifles, but these too were markedly inferior to the designs in service with the other great powers. By the end of the Great War, the need for a new rifle could not be ignored.

The first step was to design a replacement for the venerable out outdated 8x50mm cartridge of the Lebel, and this was accomplished shortly after the Armistice with a 7.5x57mm round, which entered service in 1924 with the Chattelerault Mle.1924 light machine gun. This round performed well, but fears existed that the round may be confused with the German 7.92x57mm cartridge, and as a result the casing was shortened to 54mm to prevent French firearms from chambering the German rounds, the change occurring in 1929.

The model designation and serial number, located on the left side of the receiver. Note the characteristic two piece stock.

The development of the rifle would take some more time, but a prototype was ready by 1932, and after a further four years of revisions finally was approved for production as the Fusil MAS Mle.1936. The MAS in the designation is actually simply the abbreviation of Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne, or St. Etienne Weapons Factory, the French government arsenal where the rifle was designed and later manufactured. Production commenced immediately following approval for production, with the rifle being named the standard issue weapon of the French Army, pending the trial and acceptance of the planned semi-automatic design.

The rear aperture sight of the MAS36, seen here elevated to its highest 1200 meter setting. On pre-war examples such as this, the sight is adjusted by pressing down on the aperture to unlock the slider.

By the time of the outbreak of a new global conflict in late 1939 the MAS36 had been in production for three years, and when the Germans invaded in 1940 a little over 200,000 of the new rifles were available to the defenders. The program for the semi-automatic rifle was nearing fruition at this time, but with the rapid collapse of France only five prototypes were produced before the forcible cancellation of the project. The rifle was well received by French troops, with its charger clips being a major improvement over the mannlicher clips of the Berthiers and the tube magazine of the Lebel. Despite this, it was never able to displace the older designs before the fall of France, and production halted after the Armistice of 1940, with the St. Etienne Arsenal falling into the so-called “Zone libre”, controlled by Petain’s Vichy Regime. During this period, only a small number of Tir Reduit .22 training rifles were produced.

After the liberation, production resumed, and despite the new MAS44 semi-automatic rifle taking primacy in the post war period, production of the MAS36 would continue until 1957. It saw extensive service with the French as their empire collapsed in the post war wave of decolonization, including in Vietnam, Algeria, Cameroon and Madagascar, among others. The MAS36’s descendants, the FR F1 and F2 sniper rifles, remain in the modern arsenal of France.

The muzzle end of the rifle, with the distinctive stacking hook protruding from the right hand side of the rifle and the stowed bayonet under the barrel. Also note the open topped sight, indicative of a pre-war rifle.

The MAS36 is a bolt action short rifle, feeding from a five round magazine charged via Mauser type chargers. The clips for this rifle are notably made of aluminum, and generally do not eject from the rifle without taking some damage due to the sharp force required to do so deforming them. It is therefore recommended to manually remove stripper clips if one intends to reuse them. The rifle features a simple blade front sight protected by thick milled steel band with wings (post-war models would be fitted with a stamped band with a hood), and a rear aperture sight graduated from 200 to 1,200 meters. The rear sight is not adjustable for windage, instead seeral different apertures were available, and the rifle was zeroed for windage by having an armorer replace it until zero was achieved, an operation intended to ensure the rifle remained zeroed after that point, with the fairly consistent service ammunition.

The rifle also is somewhat infamous for its lack of a manual safety, but in the context of French martial rifles, this is not uncommon. Neither the Lebel or Berthier were fitted with a manual safety, and instead the standard practice was to carry the rifle without a chambered round, with the soldiers cycling the action when ordered to do commence fire by their officers. This somewhat archaic doctrine of the French Army combined with the intention to make the new rifle as simple as possible to bring about the omission.

The spike bayonet is reversed and replaced in its socket for use

My example was produced in May of 1940, as evidenced by both the “J” serial number block and the month and year stamped on the underside of the barrel shank. This example was produced in the last days of production as the Germans entered the country, and as a result notably lacks the typical stock cartouche seen on these rifles, despite the matching serial numbers on the all components of the rifle. The rifle has the typical features of a pre-armistice rifle, such as milled components, open front sight, the method of adjustment on the rear sight and a painted on finish.

I have always enjoyed the MAS36, having also owned a post-war example at one point. The rifle is fairly light and in my opinion very comfortable to hold and shoot. The 7.5mm cartridge provides mild recoil, and the aperture sights are easy to acquire. The awkward appearance of the bent-forward bolt handle belies its ease of use, and I find the MAS36 to rival even the Lee Enfield action for rapid, shoulder firing. The bayonet’s nature of always being present it an excellent feature, as it essentially means that deploying it does not alter the balance of the rifle significantly. It is still removable, however, allowing it to still be used for the bayonet’s main duty in practice: that of a general use tool. The thin spike bayonet is also typical of French arms of the period, being very similar to the famous “Rosalie” of the Lebel and Berthiers.

Polish soldiers serving in the French Army after their homeland fell are seen here in French uniform and armed with MAS36 rifles in early 1940

Observed Values and Frequency

Updated: February, 2024

AVERAGE VALUE (USD): $800

FREQUENCY: Rare

COLLECTOR’S NOTES: Price reflects wartime production
Wartime rifles can be identified by their black enamel paint finish, open front sights and serial numbers in the “L” block or lower