7.5×54mm French

The 7.5×54mm French, 7.5 French, or 7.5 MAS (designated as the 7,5 × 54 MAS by the C.I.P.) is a rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It was developed by France as an update to the 7.5×57mm MAS mod. 1924 cartridge. It replaced the obsolete 8×50mmR Lebel round used during World War I, and served as the French service cartridge until superseded by the 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges in the 1970s and 1980s.

7.5×54mm MAS mod. 1929
TypeRifle
Place of originFrance
Service history
In service1929–1990
Used byFrance, Germany, Vietnam, Cameroon
WarsWorld War II
First Indochina War
Algerian War
Suez Crisis
Vietnam War
Shaba II
Anglophone Crisis
Production history
DesignerMAS
Designed1924
VariantsBalle "C", Balle "D"
Specifications
Parent case7.5×57mm MAS mod. 1924
Case typeRimless, bottleneck
Bullet diameter7.84 mm (0.309 in)
Land diameter7.57 mm (0.298 in)
Neck diameter8.66 mm (0.341 in)
Shoulder diameter11.30 mm (0.445 in)
Base diameter12.25 mm (0.482 in)
Rim diameter12.34 mm (0.486 in)
Rim thickness1.40 mm (0.055 in)
Case length54.00 mm (2.126 in)
Overall length76.00 mm (2.992 in)
Case capacity3.76 cm3 (58.0 gr H2O)
Rifling twist270 mm (10.63 inches)
Primer typeBerdan or Boxer Large rifle
Maximum pressure (C.I.P.)380.00 MPa (55,114 psi)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy
9.0 g (139 gr) Balle C FMJ 820 m/s (2,700 ft/s) 3,026 J (2,232 ft⋅lbf)
9.0 g (139 gr) FMJ Privi Partizan 830 m/s (2,700 ft/s) 3,104 J (2,289 ft⋅lbf)
9.0 g (139 gr) SP 850 m/s (2,800 ft/s) 3,550 J (2,620 ft⋅lbf)
11.7 g (181 gr) SP 790 m/s (2,600 ft/s) 3,650 J (2,690 ft⋅lbf)
12.35 g (191 gr) Balle D FMJ 694 m/s (2,280 ft/s) 2,974 J (2,194 ft⋅lbf)
Test barrel length: 574 mm (22.60 in) and
600 mm (23.62 in)
Source(s): C.I.P. SurplusRifle.com /Cartridges of the World

The 7.5×54mm French MAS has an uncommon 12.39 mm (0.488 in) breech and breechface diameter, and it has ballistics comparable to the 7.62×51mm NATO/.308 Winchester round. The 7.5 French cartridge is somewhat similar in appearance to the slightly longer and thicker 7.5×55mm Swiss GP11 round but users should never try to interchange the two rounds.

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