What is the French MAB 25 caliber handgun for WAC?

Answer 1

The following .25 caliber (6.35mm) pistol models were made by MAB:

model A Type I made in 1921, Type II introduced in 1925)

model B

model E

model GZ (actually made under license by Spanish gunmaker Echasa under the name "MAB Espanola"; Echasa also sold these pistols under other names)

All but the GZ were sold by WAC (originally Western Arms Co, which became Winfield Arms Co, both in Los Angeles), the principal importer and distributer of MAB pistols in North America from the late 1940s until the early 1960s. The GZ, which was also made in .22LR, .32 and .380, did not begin production until after WAC closed.

How many cartridges does the clip hold? MAB Model A holds 6 rounds, the Model E holds 9, and the Model GZ holds 8.

History:

After the first Eibar Type of 1921, in Jänner 1925 the pistol MAB A in the blued version appeared on the market. A nickel plated model followed in November 1929.

The concept of this pistol is like the predecessor model. It is equipped with plastik grips in the contour of the frame, with the companys logo MAB on them. The slide now has vertical serrations, finer and numerous than on the preceding model. A palm safety was placed and the safety lever was placed ath the rear end now, and got an extension to the front with a nose, which fixes the slide in the closed or open position. Like the other MAB-pistols, it got unlocked breech system.

During period of production the pistol MAB A got some smaller modifications, that possibly allow an assignment to the production-date. Trigger and the extractor were first milled out of in steel and have been replaced later on with prefabricated parts from drawn sheet metal. The modificaton of the extractor took place since May 30th, 1948 on all arms, which numbers are higher than 65.000. Furthermore, there are hints that beginning with March 22nd, 1954 the grooves of the barrels of all MAB pistols were made without milling.

The production of the MAB A ended in September 1964.

During the German occupatuin in World War II between 1941 and 1944 according to books 1.130 pistols MAB A were supplied to German authorities. The serial numbers of these pieces are between 107.900 and 109.240.

In the united states, MAB-Pistols were imported and traded by the "Winfield Arms Corporation" in Los Angeles under their name. Early models were marked on the right side with "Made in France for WAC", in later years, the pistols got completely new names for the American market, like for example "Le Defendeur".

Technical Data:

SYSTEM: blowback inertial system with firing pin

CARTRIDGES : 6

CALIBER : .25 ACP

BARREL LENGTH : 53 mm , 6 grooves right hand twisting

WEIGHT EMPTY : 380 g

TOTAL LENGTH : 117 mm

TOTAL HEIGHT : 79 mm

TOTAL WIDTH : 24 mm

TRIGGER : Single Action

SIGHT : fix

SAFETY : grip-, magazine- and lever-safety

FINISH : blued

HANDLE : hard rubber