MAC Mle 1950 grips
MAC Mle 1950 grips
The MAC Mle 1950 (also known as MAC 50, MAS 50, or Pistolet Automatique Modèle 1950) is a French 9mm semi-automatic pistol adopted as the standard sidearm of the French armed forces
Development began in October 1946 when the French Army General Staff issued specs for a new 9x19mm locked-breech pistol to standardize and replace the chaotic mix of pre-war, wartime, and captured handguns (including Modèle 1935A/S, revolvers, and Colt 1911s) amid post-WWII colonial conflicts
Led by Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne (MAS), the design evolved from the Modèle 1935S, featuring a short-recoil Browning-style system with swinging link, single-action trigger, external hammer, captive recoil spring, and improved ergonomics with larger grip. Prototypes underwent trials in 1950, including endurance tests of thousands of rounds; despite early issues like slide cracks, refinements led to adoption on August 16, 1950
Production started in 1953 at Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault (MAC) — hence the common "MAC" name — with the first 100 units delivered June 1, 1953. MAC built 221,900 pistols (parkerized finish, "M.A.C." markings) until the arsenal closed in 1963. Production then shifted to MAS in Saint-Étienne, adding ~120,000 more by 1978, for a total of ~341,900 units
The reliable MAC 50 served in Indochina, Algeria, Suez, and beyond until gradually replaced by the PAMAS G1 and SIG SP 2022 in the 1980s–2000s