Editing MAT-49 (section)

==Development==
In 1949, after evaluating several other submachine gun [[prototype]]s (including a collapsible design from [[Hotchkiss et Cie|Hotchkiss]]), the French MAT factory began production of the MAT-49 [[9×19mm Parabellum]] submachine gun. The MAT-49 used a [[Stamping (metalworking)|machine stamping process]] which allowed for the economical production of large numbers of submachine guns, then urgently required by the French Government for use by Army, [[French Foreign Legion]] as well as airborne and colonial forces to meet the need for a compact weapon.<ref name=MAT-49-54>{{Cite web |url=https://www.forgottenweapons.com/mat-49-54-police-submachine-gun/ |title=MAT 49-54 Police Submachine Gun |first=Ian |last=McCollum |date=January 22, 2020 |website=[[Forgotten Weapons]] |access-date=April 26, 2020 |archive-date=April 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200427031941/https://www.forgottenweapons.com/mat-49-54-police-submachine-gun/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Production continued at MAT until the mid-1960s, then switched to the [[Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne]] plant (MAS), where the weapon was produced until 1973. In 1979, the French armed forces adopted the [[FAMAS]] [[5.56×45mm NATO|5.56 mm NATO]] [[assault rifle]], and the MAT-49 was gradually phased out of service.