Combloc
Stop Negassing me!!!!!
Just puttering about today waiting for spring and I thought it might be fun to do a quickie on the MAS 44 cleaning kit. I think many collectors aren't even aware they exist so, we'll take a quick look. If I live long enough, I'll eventually include better pictures of this fun little kit in an in-depth look at the rifle it was made for.
It starts with a nondescript canvas pouch:
As you can see, the button hole isn't in the best of shape. For this reason, I don't button it closed. There is a cute little brown button though:
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Side:
Rear with belt loop:
Obviously, the black zip tie isn't original but that's the way it came to me so that's the way I'll keep it.
Unpacked, we get a look at all the goodies:
From left to right, we have:
- Pouch
- Type 1 "ejector-hook" and screwdriver tool (the Type 2 has the tips reversed)
- Chamber brush
- pull through cord wrapped around a brass, slotted pull through
- Broken shell extractor
- Firing pin with spring (this firing pin is exclusive to the MAS 44)
- Ejector, ejector retaining pin, and extractor with spring
- Oil bottle
- Above is a wooden scraper
- Below is a brush stamped on its wooden handle with its part number and "ARMÉE FRANÇAISE"
Now, comes the foggy part. Is this kit complete or incomplete? All I have ever been able to find out about this kit is a picture of it and its contents in the April, 1945 provisional manual. There is a picture of it on Plate III:
According to this picture, the kit I have is missing its pin punch and it also has contents that are not pictured. To my knowledge, a standardized manual for the rifle was never printed because so few rifles were produced, and it had such a short life before the MAS 49 came along. So, is this plate from the provisional manual accurate? Maybe and maybe not. I can say this because I have the MAS 49 provisional manual and I know for a fact that the canvas cleaning kit pictured for that rifle is not identical to the one actually issued. Additionally, the "Nomenclature" page in the provisional MAS 44 manual is not accurate, so it's clear that things were a work in progress. All I can do is document what I have in front of me.
I have a cleaning kit for the MAS 38 SMG and it does have a pin punch in it that looks very close to the one pictured in the MAS 44 manual, so they did exist. The question is whether or not they were actually included in the MAS 44 kit :
By the time the MAS 49 provisional manual was printed in September of 1950, a pin punch was no longer pictured. However, all of the parts pictured above are shown in that manual and a canvas parts holder was provided to store most of them so, it's entirely possible that the extra parts in my MAS 44 kit are supposed to be in there. In the end, we'll probably never know for sure.
Lastly, I want to talk about the neat little wooden scraper. This was used to get into all of the little nooks and crannies while you were cleaning your iron buddy. If you've never used one while cleaning, I highly recommend that you start. You'll be amazed just how handy it is to have on in your cleaning kit. BUT, I digress. The scraper is nothing more than a piece of dowel wood that has a chamfer at the blunt end to keep it from splintering and catching on things. At the business end, it's been carved down to a thinnish, squared off scraper.:
I have a number of these little guys and the tip is slightly different on each one so it's clear that these were shaped by hand. Here are two compared:
So, that's it for now. Again, I'll eventually get into mind numbingly boring detail on this when I write about the rifle but this is enough for now. I've never found this kit documented online and I think it'd be a shame if it never was. And so, now it is; to some small degree anyway. Thanks for spending a few minutes of your time reading my craziness and I hope you enjoyed it!
It starts with a nondescript canvas pouch:
As you can see, the button hole isn't in the best of shape. For this reason, I don't button it closed. There is a cute little brown button though:
[/URL]Side:
Rear with belt loop:
Obviously, the black zip tie isn't original but that's the way it came to me so that's the way I'll keep it.
Unpacked, we get a look at all the goodies:
From left to right, we have:
- Pouch
- Type 1 "ejector-hook" and screwdriver tool (the Type 2 has the tips reversed)
- Chamber brush
- pull through cord wrapped around a brass, slotted pull through
- Broken shell extractor
- Firing pin with spring (this firing pin is exclusive to the MAS 44)
- Ejector, ejector retaining pin, and extractor with spring
- Oil bottle
- Above is a wooden scraper
- Below is a brush stamped on its wooden handle with its part number and "ARMÉE FRANÇAISE"
Now, comes the foggy part. Is this kit complete or incomplete? All I have ever been able to find out about this kit is a picture of it and its contents in the April, 1945 provisional manual. There is a picture of it on Plate III:
According to this picture, the kit I have is missing its pin punch and it also has contents that are not pictured. To my knowledge, a standardized manual for the rifle was never printed because so few rifles were produced, and it had such a short life before the MAS 49 came along. So, is this plate from the provisional manual accurate? Maybe and maybe not. I can say this because I have the MAS 49 provisional manual and I know for a fact that the canvas cleaning kit pictured for that rifle is not identical to the one actually issued. Additionally, the "Nomenclature" page in the provisional MAS 44 manual is not accurate, so it's clear that things were a work in progress. All I can do is document what I have in front of me.
I have a cleaning kit for the MAS 38 SMG and it does have a pin punch in it that looks very close to the one pictured in the MAS 44 manual, so they did exist. The question is whether or not they were actually included in the MAS 44 kit :
By the time the MAS 49 provisional manual was printed in September of 1950, a pin punch was no longer pictured. However, all of the parts pictured above are shown in that manual and a canvas parts holder was provided to store most of them so, it's entirely possible that the extra parts in my MAS 44 kit are supposed to be in there. In the end, we'll probably never know for sure.
Lastly, I want to talk about the neat little wooden scraper. This was used to get into all of the little nooks and crannies while you were cleaning your iron buddy. If you've never used one while cleaning, I highly recommend that you start. You'll be amazed just how handy it is to have on in your cleaning kit. BUT, I digress. The scraper is nothing more than a piece of dowel wood that has a chamfer at the blunt end to keep it from splintering and catching on things. At the business end, it's been carved down to a thinnish, squared off scraper.:
I have a number of these little guys and the tip is slightly different on each one so it's clear that these were shaped by hand. Here are two compared:
So, that's it for now. Again, I'll eventually get into mind numbingly boring detail on this when I write about the rifle but this is enough for now. I've never found this kit documented online and I think it'd be a shame if it never was. And so, now it is; to some small degree anyway. Thanks for spending a few minutes of your time reading my craziness and I hope you enjoyed it!
