Fusil Mitrailleur Modèle 1924/29
Light Machine Gun
Towards the end of World War One, the French army purchased 15,000 Browning Automatic Rifles as a possible successor to the FM Chauchat Modèle 1915, because the outdated 8 × 50 mm R Lebel rimmed cartridge of the FM Chauchat proved unsuitable for machine guns. Initial plans to produce the BAR M.1918 under license were dropped in favour of a new French light machine gun design. In intensive tests in 1923, the prototype of the MAC FM 23 finally prevailed over its competitors FM MAS 1922, Hotchkiss M.1922, Lewis Mk.I and Browning BAR M.1918. Production began in 1925, and the first rifles were issued to the troops the following year.
In 1929, the MAC FM Modèle 1924 was adapted to the new 7.5 mm 1929C rifle cartridge and was now designated the FM Modèle 1924/29. Called the FM 24/29 by the troops, it shared many features with the other light machine guns of its time. The weapon was designed for semi or fully automatic fire. The rifle butt, pistol grip and stock were made of wood. The box magazine was located on the weapon, so the rear sight and front sight had to be mounted on the left side, as required by right-handed people. The bipod could be folded back and a ground spike could be mounted under the butt. The MAC FM 24/29 was suitable for use on sidecar combinations.
The FM 24/29 was very popular with the French Army, serving in World War Two, then in Indochina and Algeria until it was decommissioned in 1965. The German Wehrmacht used captured FM 24/29s to arm the Estonian Legion and other auxiliary troops, but most of the stock went to forces in the former French colonies, as well as to the French auxiliary troops in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, the Viet Minh, Viet Cong, and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam used the FM 24/29.
Miniatures with FM Modèle 1924/29 LMGs
- WW2 French Infantry, 1:72 ESCI P-205
- WW2 French Foreign Legion (North Africa), 1:72 Strelets 187
Technical Data
- Designation: Fusil Mitrailleur Modèle 1924/29
- Type: Light Machine Gun (LMG)
- Developers: Colonel Jean Reibel
- Manufacturer: Manufacture d’arme de Châtellerault (MAC)
- Action: gas operated
- Length: 1070 mm
- Barrel Length: 500 mm
- Weight: 9 kg (with empty Magazine)
- Calibre: 7,5 mm
- Cartridge: 7,5 × 54 mm
- Ammunition Feed: Box Magazine for 25 Cartridges
- Effective Range: 800 m
- Operation: semi or full automatic
- Rate of Fire: 550 rounds per minute
- Muzzle Velocity: 790 m/s
- Production: 1925–1940
Historical Employment
- Rif War, 1921–1926
- Winter War, 1939–1940
- Second World War, 1939–1945
- Continuation War, 1941–1944
- First Indochina War, 1946–1954
- Algerian War, 1954–1962
- Palestine War, 1947–1949
- Vietnam War, 1955–1975