General Facts
- TYPE
Pistol - ORIGIN
France - NICKNAMES
Modèle D
MAB D - DESIGNED
Early 1930's - DESIGNER
Manufacture d'Armes de Bayonne (MAB) - PRODUCTION
1933 - 1967 - PRODUCERS
France - MAB - QUANTITY
Well over 50.000 produced. - UNIT COST
Unknown - CHARACTERISTICS
Rugged design
Limited firepower
Introduction
The Mle D is a pre World War 2 era pistol of French origin. It was developed in the 1930's for police and military use. The official name is Modèle D, but this is often abbreviated to Mle D or MAB D.
Design
The design of the Mle D is based on the earlier civilian Mle C. The Mle C is in turn inspired on the FN model 1910/22. The Mle D is a long and thin pistol made out of metal. It has plastic grip plates, is available in two calibers and uses single stack magazines.
Firepower
The Mle D is a single action semi-automatic pistol. It fires the 7.65mm Browning from a 9 round magazine or the .380 ACP from a 7 round magazine.
Users
The Modèle D was adopted by the French military and law enforcement before World War 2. During the war it was produced for Nazi Germany. After the war it remained in wide use throughout various French agencies, although revolvers remained more popular. It was also exported to several nations with close ties to France. Additionally it was sold on the civilian market.
Mle D
The Mle D is a semi-automatic pistol available in 7.65mm Browning and .380 ACP. The design is derived from the Mle C, which in turn is inspired on the FN 1910/22.
Modèle D, Type I: Original production model with external muzzle bushing release latch in front of the trigger guard. Produced from 1933 to 1945.
Modèle D, Type II: Improved version with internal bayonet type release requiring pushing in and turning the muzzle bushing. Produced from 1945 to 1967.
- Specifications:
- Mle D (7.65mm)
- Mle D (.380)
Type | Pistol |
---|---|
Caliber | 7.65x17mm Browning |
Magazine | 9 rounds |
Operation | Blowback operated, single action |
Fire selector | 0-1 |
Rate of fire | Semi-automatic |
Barrel length | 101 mm |
---|---|
Rifling | ? |
Muzzle velocity | 213 m/s |
Stock | - |
Length | 178 mm |
Width | ? |
Height | ? |
---|---|
Weight | 0.76 kg |
Sights | Iron sights, fixed |
Remarks | - |
Type | Pistol |
---|---|
Caliber | .380 ACP |
Magazine | 7 rounds |
Operation | Blowback operated, single action |
Fire selector | 0-1 |
Rate of fire | Semi-automatic |
Barrel length | 101 mm |
---|---|
Rifling | ? |
Muzzle velocity | ? |
Stock | - |
Length | 178 mm |
Width | ? |
Height | ? |
---|---|
Weight | 0.76 kg |
Sights | Iron sights, fixed |
Remarks | - |