One of the more surprising pistols to appear in Ukraine is the French MAC Modele 1950. The MAC 1950 is a 9x19mm pistol which was adopted by the French armed forces in the early 1950s. It was supplanted by the PAMAS G1, a French-manufactured Beretta 92, in the early 90s, which is now in turn being replaced by the Glock 17. It would appear that France has provided the MAC pistols from their stores. It is unclear if any PAMAS G1s have been provided, as there are a number of Beretta 92 variants in use in Ukraine.
The MAC 1950 is a short recoil, locked breach pistol which feeds from a nine round single stack magazine. Compared to more modern pistols, and even some of its contemporaries, the MAC 1950 is somewhat obsolecent. As a sidearm, however, they are likely adequate for the roles they fulfil.
The first imagery of a MAC 1950 I have come across dates to in February 2025. I’ve been unable to find the original source of the images.
More recently, on 17 November, a second sighting came when the 2nd Mechanised Battalion of the 3rd Assault Brigade shared a photograph featuring a French MAC 1950 pistol being fired during a training session.
Іван Савельєв, an armourer affiliated with the 3rd Assault Brigade, has also noted that some units are short on pistols and have issued MAC 1950s.
The pistols do not appear in either of the equipment lists released by the French government in 2023 and 2024.
Most recently, I came across another photo shared by a Ukrainian serviceman featuring a MAC Modele 1950, shared on 30 January (alongside a SIG Sauer P320).
My thanks to Weapons Illustrated for assistance.
This is one of the ‘research note’ videos I share on the TAB Patreon. It highlights early research into a weapon spotted in use in Ukraine ahead of a fully fleshed out video! If you found this interesting and enjoyed a look at the process of doing the research and making these videos check out Patreon for more of them (3 more in the editing stage at the time of posting). Check out the TAB Patreon page here.
The Armourers Bench 