Reibel machine gun

Reibel machine gun
Preserved mitrailleuse mle 31 in the Saumur armour museum (single-mount, tank-style model)
TypeMachine gun
Place of originFrance
Service history
Used bySee Users
WarsWorld War II
1948 Arab–Israeli War
First Indochina War
Vietnam War
Algerian War[1]
Chadian Civil War (1965–79)
Production history
Designed1931
ManufacturerManufacture d'armes de Châtellerault
Specifications
Mass11.8 kg
Length1030 mm[citation needed]
Barrel length600 mm

Cartridge7.5×54mm French 7.5x55mm Swiss
Caliber7.5 mm
ActionGas
Rate of fire750 rounds per minute (theoretical); 450rpm for one minute or 150rpm sustained (practical)
Muzzle velocity830 m/s (with balle C)
Feed system150-round pan magazine
SightsIron (single guns)
Telescopic (fortification mounts)
A Jumelage de mitrailleuses Reibel twin-mounting for use in fortifications. Shown without guns mounted, front oblique angle. Note heavy metal protective shrouding for the barrels, and circular openings for pan magazines. Square frame is intended to bolt into standard embrasures.

The MAC mle 1931 machine gun (official French designation Mitrailleuse modèle 1931 - machine gun, model of 1931), was a machine gun used in French tanks of the World War II era, as well as in fortifications such as the Maginot line. It is also sometimes known as the JM Reibel, from Jumelage de mitrailleuses, or Reibel twin-mounted guns and really refers to the specialized twin-mounting frame used in JM cloche cupolas on the Maginot Line fortifications, while MAC mle 1931 refers specifically to the gun. The JM twin-mounts were the standard emplacement for the mle 1931 in fixed fortifications, while tanks and other AFVs received single guns.

  1. ^ Huon, Jean (March 1992). "L'armement français en A.F.N." Gazette des Armes (in French). No. 220. pp. 12–16.