7.5x54mm French

Infobox Firearm Cartridge
name= 7.5x54mm MAS mod. 1929


caption=
origin=flagcountry|France
type=Rifle
service=1929-1980
used_by=France, Germany, Vietnam
wars=World War II, First Indochina War, Algerian War, Suez Crisis, Vietnam War
designer=MAS
design_date=1924
manufacturer=
production_date=
number=
variants=Balle "C", Balle "D"
is_SI_specs=yes
parent=7.5x57mm MAS mod. 1924
case_type=Rimless, bottleneck
bullet=7.8
neck=8.6
shoulder=11.2
base=12.2
rim_dia=12.2
rim_thick=1.4
case_length=54
length=78
rifling=250 mm (10 inches)
primer=Large rifle
max_pressure=280 MPa
is_SI_ballistics=yes
bwunit=gram
bw1=9.0
btype1=Balle "C" FMJ
vel1=823
en1=3038
bw2=9.7
btype2=SP
vel2=850
en2=3550
bw3=11.7
btype3=SP
vel3=790
en3=3650
bw4=
btype4=
vel4=
en4=
bw5=
btype5=
vel5=
en5=
test_barrel_length=574 mm (22.6 inch)
balsrc= SurplusRifle.com [ [http://www.surplusrifle.com/mas36/ammunition.asp Surplusrifle.com] ] /Cartridges of the World cite book
last = Barnes
first = Frank C.
editor = Skinner, Stan
title = Cartridges of the World
edition = 11th Edition
origyear = 1965
year = 2006
publisher = Gun Digest Books
location = Iola, WI, USA
pages = 353,375
isbn = 0-89689-297-2] The 7.5x54mm French MAS or 7.5 French cartridge was developed by France as an update to the 7.5x57mm MAS mod. 1924 cartridge. It replaced the obsolete 8mm Lebel round used during WW-1. In terms of power it is somewhat comparable to the 7.62x51mm NATO/.308 Winchester round. The 7.5 French cartridge is somewhat similar to the slightly longer 7.5x55mm Schmidt Rubin (7.5 mm Swiss) round but users should never try to interchange the two rounds.

History & General Information

By World War I the French Army realized that it needed to update its revolutionary, but obsolete, 8 mm Lebel ammunition. Unfortunately due to the demands of mass production of the 8mm Lebel round during WW-1 it was not able to do so until after the war had ended. In 1924 the 7.5x57mm MAS cartridge was introduced but was soon replaced with the slightly shorter 7.5x54mm MAS. Two main variations were manufactured for military use, the 1924C and 1924D, being light and heavy ball respectively. The French Army chose to adopt the light ball ammunition for service use in the MAS-36 and MAS-49 rifles as well as in the Mle 1924-29 machine rifle. The heavier Balle D was designed for machine gun usage. Armor piercing, tracers, incendiary, training, etc. 7.5 mm MAS ammunition was also manufactured for the military . The round is still banned in France for sporting weapons.

Weapons chambered for 7.5x54mm MAS

* MAS-36 rifle
* MAS-49 and FSA MAS 49/56 rifles
* FM 24/29 light machine gun
* Reibel machine gun
* Darne aircraft machine gun
* MAC 1934 aircraft machine gun
* FN-Browning mle 38 aircraft machine gun

ee also

* List of rifle cartridges
* 7 mm caliber
* "Military and Machine Gun Cartridges", Jean Huon, 1988, Ironside International Pub., Inc, Alexandria,VA, ISBN 0-935554-05 X ,

References

* " [http://www.gunsworld.com/75/fr_75_1_us.html 7.5 Mas Ammo -1] " (french)
* " [http://www.gunsworld.com/75/fr_75_2_us.html 7.5 Mas Ammo -2] " (french)
* " [http://members.nuvox.net/~on.melchar/75french/75french.html 7.5x54 French MAS Cartridge - French - ALM] "
* " [http://armesfrancaises.free.fr/FR%20MAS%2036.html Le fusil de 7,5 mm modèle MAS 36] "
*