Original French WWII Fusil-mitrailleur Modèle 1924 M29 Display LMG with Magazine – Serial 42338 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is something that we have not had before! This is a fantastic original Fusil-mitrailleur Modèle 1924 M29 (Machine Gun Model 1924 M29) Display Light Machine Gun. It has been de-activated to BATF specifications and built on a re-welded original receiver with 2 inches completely replaced, making this a totally legal non-firing FM 24/29. Included with this excellent example is a fully functional original magazine (deactivated where required).

The receiver is marked on the rear right with 1924 M 29 over serial number 42338. There are additional markings on the top of the barrel, which appear to be arsenal stock numbers.

Condition is very good, with the expected wear from service. The pistol grip, fore stock, and butt stock are all in good condition with a nice color. The magazine well / ejection port cover is still present as well, as is the bipod, which correctly stows away.

This is a great chance to pick up a great example of a French WWII Mle 1924/29 Light Machine gun, the first that we have ever had.

About the FM24/29 Light Machine Gun-
After the end of World War I, the French army sought to replace the problematic fusil-mitrailleur mle 1915, better known as the Chauchat machine gun. French commanders considered standardizing on the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, but eventually required the development of a locally-built weapon. MAS (an abbreviation of Manufacture d’Armes de St. Etienne – one of several government-owned arms factories in France) proposed a direct derivative of the B.A.R, but the Manufacture d’Armes de Châtellerault (MAC) won the bid with its weapon which was loosely based on the B.A.R action. The new fusil-mitrailleur modèle 1924 (automatic rifle, model of 1924) featured a bipod, an in-line stock, a pistol grip, a top-mounted 25-round magazine and a bolt hold-open after the magazine’s last round had been fired. Protection of all the openings against mud and dust was excellent. The cyclic rate was 450 rounds per minute. Since the standard 8 mm Lebel ammunition type had been found inappropriate for large capacity magazines, ammunition was a brand-new rimless 7.5x57mm round.

In the late 1920s, the FM mle 24 entered limited production and operational use, where numerous problems with the new ammunition type appeared. In particular, 8mm Mauser ammunition which was in use with captured rifles used by auxiliaries in Morocco during the Rif War, could be chambered and fired with disastrous results. This situation led to the development of the 7.5x54mm type, which was chosen in 1929 as the standard calibre for all future rifles and light machine guns in French service. The accordingly modified fusil-mitrailleur modèle 1924 modifié 1929 (FM 24/29) was mass-manufactured in the 1930s until older FMs could be phased out of service. The Trigger Mechanism Housing (TMH) of the FM 24/29 was also used in Henri Delacre’s Bullpup Submachine gun.