The M.A.B. PA-15 Pistol

by Ed Buffaloe

The Manufacture d’Armes de Bayonne was founded by Léon Barthe in 1920 to make automatic pistols for self defense.  Until the 1950s the guns made by M.A.B. were mostly based on Browning designs. In 1951-1952 the Modèle R was produced and offered in five different chamberings:  .22, .32 ACP, .32 French Long, .380, and 9mm Parabellum.  In the case of the .32 French Long and the 9mm Parabellum, this was the first time any MAB pistol had been chambered for a military round. The R Series guns retained the blowback design that had been used since the company was founded, with the recoil spring around the barrel, á la the 1910 Browning.  But the Modèle R featured an external hammer (a first for M.A.B.), eliminated the grip safety, and had a slide that remained open when the last round was fired and closed when a new magazine was inserted.  The magazine for the 9mm R-series gun held 8 rounds.  This gun, sometimes referred to as the R-9 or the R Para, was manufactured from 1952 to 1963, but not many were made and they are very scarce today.  Most of the R Series guns were imported into the U.S. by the Winfield Arms Corporation of Los Angeles and rebranded as W.A.C. (though the 1968 Gun Digest lists “Mars Equpment” as the importer, and the 1974 Gun Digest lists “Gold Rush” as the importer). Late production R-9 pistols were sold in the U.S. under the name “Le Militaire.” In some cases the MAB logo on the grips was replaced by WAC, and in most cases the slide was stamped “MADE IN FRANCE FOR W.A.C.”

MAB R-Para Experimental MAC 50 MAB PA-15 There have been a few blowback designs for the 9mm Parabellum cartridge over the years. One successful design was the Astra Model 600, known for its powerful recoil spring as well as its powerful recoil (I should probably add the Campo-Giro and the Astra 400, which were chambered for the 9mm Bayard Long).  Another is the Walther Model 6, which was insufficiently robust for the 9mm Parabellum round and was discontinued after only about a thousand were made. The Italian Glisenti of 1910 was also a blowback-operated pistol originally designed for the 9mm Parabellum, but the action was not strong enough to handle the recoil and eventually a lower-powered round had to be manufactured for it, which became known as the 9mm Glisenti. Then there was the 9mm Dreyse, which appeared just prior to World War I. The Dreyse required such a powerful recoil spring that the manufacturer had to design a means of disconnecting the recoil spring from the slide during cocking.  Bernadelli made a marginally successful blowback 9mm called the VB in 1950. Finally, there was the M.A.B. R-9 (or R-Para), which worked well but sold poorly. MAB PA-15

The R PARA Experimental - Predecessor to the PA-15

I suppose the M.A.B. designers realized they needed a locked breech, or at least a delayed blowback, design for the powerful 9mm Parabellum cartridge, particularly if they wanted the gun to qualify for a military contract.  Sometime in the late 1950s they produced an experimental pistol utilizing a delayed-blowback rotating barrel system very similar to that of the Savage automatic pistol, based on Elbert Searle’s patent of 1905 (the French had acquired about 27,500 Savage 7.65mm automatic pistols for use during World War I). The mechanism also has some similarities to the Czech vz.22 and vz.24 pistols. The gun was marked the Modèle R, even though it was a very different design from the original R-9. Above the model designation, on the left side of the slide, was “PISTOLET AUTOMATIQUE MAB BREVETTE - S.G.D.G.” Identical markings are found on the P-8 and PA-15 pistols, sans the “Modèle R.”  To distinguish it from the true Model R Para, this gun is sometimes referred to as the “R Para Experimental.”  It is the direct predecessor of the P-8 and the PA-15.  When I went to the big gun show in Tulsa (the largest in the world) I only found 3 people who had ever seen an R PARA Experimental or even knew what one was--they agreed that probably fewer than 100 were made.

The P-8 and PA-15

The P-8 pistol was manufactured from 1966 through 1969.  It was an updated version of the R PARA Experimental, with a slide lock lever nearly identical to the 1911A1 Colt .45, the recoil spring beneath the barrel instead of around it, all steel construction, plastic grips, and a rotating barrel. The gun was quite heavy at 1.04 kilograms, or about 36.6 ounces, though it was slimmer and lighter than the PA-15. 

The PA-15 (Pistolet Automatique 15, also referred to as the P15, or P.15 Standard) was manufactured from 1966 through 1982, when the M.A.B. company went bankrupt. In 1986 several previous executives of M.A.B. formed another company, called MABCO, to continue production of the PA-15 and PAP F1.  I have been unable to find a date for MABCO’s demise, but it only lasted a few years.  If you could find a PA-15 with MABCO markings, I suspect it would be an instant collector item.

Paul Mulcahy states that the M.A.B. PA-15 became the official arm of the French army in 1988, while Ezell states that it was already the French army’s standard handgun in 1980. They are both incorrect, but the confusion is easy to understand, as the target model was used by the French army, air force, and Gendarmerie. The official French military handgun from 1953 to 1987 was the MAC or MAS model 1950A.  When the French Gendarmerie was seeking bids for a high capacity double-action pistol to replace the 1950A, M.A.B. produced a double-action version of the PA-15 for them to test. However, in 1987 the Beretta 92F was adopted by the French, manufactured under license from Beretta by MAS, and designated the PA MAS G1. The M.A.B. PA-15 was adopted by the Finnish defense forces and some police units in 1975. Hogg and Walter state that the PA-15 was “used by the French army,” but the model illustrated is the PAP F1 target model.

In Josserand’s 1979 article on M.A.B. pistols, he states that the P.A.P. (pistolet automatique de précision) modèle F1, which is the target version of the PA-15, was in use by the French military and gendarmerie. A technical manual for the gun online at http://www.littlegun.be displays the note:  “Approuvé par le chef d’état-major le l’armée de Terre le 18 avril 1968...” The book French Service Handguns states outright that the M.A.B. PA-15 was never adopted by the French military, but that the target version was used by French military and police pistol teams.

The M.A.B. PA-15 is an enlarged version of the P-8, with a 15-round magazine.  At 1.165 kilograms, or 41.05 ounces (over 2½ pounds!), it probably qualifies as a deadly weapon even when unloaded.  With 15 rounds in the magazine it weighs just short of 3 pounds! Like the Savage, the rotating barrel of the PA-15 has two locking lugs.  The top lug fits into an angled groove in the roof of the slide, and the bottom lug rests in a barrel block attached to the rear of the recoil spring guide and pinned to the frame by the slide latch.  The back side of the barrel block forms part of the ramp the guides the cartridge into the chamber. The barrel is closely fitted into the massive slide. The slide, barrel, and some other parts are numbered to match the frame.

The spin imparted to the bullet by the rifling acts in the opposite direction to the unlocking mechanism, tending to keep the breech closed until the bullet exits the barrel. Ideally, the bullet departs the barrel as the slide begins to move to the rear, then the barrel rotates, and as the slide continues rearward the breech opens and the cartridge is ejected.  This is not a true locked breech mechanism, but may be classified as a delayed blowback system.

15 Rounds fired at a 1.5” Circle Drawn on a Paper Plate - 25 feet

The PA-15’s rotating barrel mechanism is probably not quite as efficient as a true locked breech, but according to J.B. Wood it does allow the gun to handle “...a wide range of loads of varying pressures....”  M.A.B., in their 1966 catalogue, claimed that the action produces less recoil than designs where the barrel tilts (i.e., locked breech designs) but, in my personal experience, true locked breech 9mm Parabellum pistols generate less recoil than the PA-15.  Probably what they meant to say (or should have said) was that the delayed blowback rotating barrel system produces less recoil than a straight blowback design (such as their earlier R-Para). In any case, the weight of the PA-15 helps to absorb its recoil.

Though the PA-15 is a single action design, it has a top-mounted connector bar like many double action guns, giving it a light, smooth trigger pull.  The trigger itself is strangely shaped, requiring finger placement near the top, but it works just fine.  The entire gun is of milled steel, with the exception of the trigger bar and magazine safety, which are stamped.  The magazine safety directly blocks the sear.  If the hammer is down and the magazine removed the slide cannot be opened because the locked sear blocks the hammer (however, if the hammer is cocked and the magazine removed the slide can be worked easily). The gun has the great merit of simplicity and ease of disassembly.

The PA-15 is nicely finished--not a mirror finish, as you can see faint mill marks, but precision machined nonetheless. When I first removed the slide and grips, interior edges were quite sharp and caught threads from my patches and cloths. I took some 1500 grit microfine sandpaper to the sharp edges under the grips and in the slide--just enough to prevent them from snagging threads.  The gun had sat for years in a gun shop cabinet and was quite dry, so I carefully lubricated it with some Hoppe’s Moly Oil and Militec grease.

The PA-15 functioned flawlessly when I took it to the range. Despite its recoil, it is extremely accurate.  With the grip of the gun on the tabletop, at 10 yards I had to look again after firing four rounds--they were all in a hole I could cover with a dime right at the top of the bullseye.  The gun shoots about 4 inches high at 25 yards, but I can compensate for that, and at 50 yards it is right on.

References 2005 Standard Catalog of Firearms, by Ned Schwing.  Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin: 2004. Dictionary of Guns and Gunmakers, by John Walter.  Greenhill, London:  2001. French Service Handguns, 1858-2004, by Eugene Medlin and Jean Huon.  Tommy Gun Publications, St. Louis:  2004. Handguns of the World, by Edward C. Ezell.  Barnes & Noble, New York: 1981. Les Pistolets Automatiques Francais: 1890-1990, by Jean Huon.  Histoire & Collections, Paris:  1995. “The M.A.B. Pistols,” by Michel H. Josserand.  The American Handgunner, May/June 1979. Pistols of the World, by Ian V. Hogg and John Walter.  Krause, Iola, Wisconsin:  2004. Troubleshooting Your Handgun, by J.B. Wood.  Folett, Chicago:  1978. http://www.pmulcahy.com/pistols/french_pistols.htm http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/5442270 http://www.littlegun.be/arme%20francaise/artisans%20a%20b/a%20mab%20r%20gb.htm http://www.littlegun.be/arme%20francaise/artisans%20a%20b/a%20mab%20p15%20gb.htm

Copyright 2007 by Ed Buffaloe. All rights reserved.

Attention: I am interested in buying older MAB pistols. Contact me at the e-mail address below.

Return to Gun Pages Home

E-mail Webmaster