MAC
MAC grips
Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault (MAC), the renowned French state-owned arsenal, was established by royal decree on July 14, 1819, in Châtellerault, Vienne department
Initially focused on producing swords for the French military, MAC expanded into firearms and cannons after 1850. Engineer Antoine Treuille de Beaulieu pioneered rifled artillery concepts there from 1840
MAC gained fame developing and mass-producing the Lebel Model 1886 rifle — the world's first smokeless-powder military rifle — which equipped French troops in World War I
In the interwar period, MAC created iconic weapons like the FM 24/29 light machine gun (standard French LMG until the 1960s), MAC 1931/Reibel and MAC 1934 machine guns, plus aircraft guns
Post-WWII, MAC produced the MAC 1950 (Pistolet Automatique Modèle 1950) 9mm pistol from 1953, delivering over 221,900 units until the arsenal closed in 1963. Production then shifted to MAS (Saint-Étienne)
MAC also developed prototypes like the MAC 47 submachine gun and experimental rifles/machine guns in 7.62mm NATO
The facility operated until 1968 as a weapons factory, leaving a legacy in French small arms history including the Lebel rifle, FM 24/29, and MAC 50 pistol
