The MAS 36, the French main battle rifle of the Second World War, has long carried the reputation that it was “never fired; only dropped once.” This slight is apparently based on the fact that ...

An FFI team showing the typical hodge-podge of weapons, including a German Mauser 98k rifle (7.92x57 mm), a German MP40 submachine gun (9 mm) and a French MAS-36 rifle (7.5x54 mm). NARA.

The first design, the FRF1, was largely inspired by, and built off, existing MAS-36 rifle actions, albeit heavily modified to accommodate a mounted optic and a free-floated barrel.

The MAS 36 was used throughout World War II by the Vichy French and Free French forces, and as such likely may have been one of the rare cases where both sides utilized the same rifle in combat ...