MAC-58
On September 23, 1950, the Manufacture d'armes de Châtellerault (MAC) began to develop a 12.7 mm machine gun to replace the M2 Browning.Only the caliber of the weapon was specified, with other features being left to the initiative of consulting firms in Mulhouse, Châtellerault and Saint-Étienne.On February 12, 1956, a dimensional drawing of the weapon was produced and submitted to the technical department of the Direction des études et fabrications d'armement [fr] (Directorate of Weapons Manufacture and Study), resulting in the creation of a prototype.The weapon was deemed valid in its presentation and operating principle, but it could not be mounted on all military vehicles in service because of its shape and lack of rear handles.On December 10, 1959, the seventh and eighth prototypes were given to the Ateliers de construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux for adaptive trials on a circular troop transport vehicle.