Madsen Saetter M1950
- Category
- Machine Gun
- Barrel
- 660 mm
- Weight, empty
- 11.60 kg
- Introduced
- 1952
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Madsen Saetter M1950 is a Danish gas-operated, belt-fed, air-cooled general-purpose machine gun firing 7.62x51mm NATO from an open bolt. Designed by Eric Larsen-Saetter and built by Dansk Industri Syndikat, it featured a quick-change barrel and a selectable rate of fire, and was adopted in numbers by Indonesia.
Conceived in postwar Denmark as a lightweight universal machine gun to compete with the German MG42 lineage, the Madsen-Saetter offered a tool-less quick-change barrel and an adjustable rate of fire but never achieved wide NATO adoption.
Early pattern of the Madsen-Saetter family; the design matured into the definitive Madsen-Saetter universal machine gun around 1960.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Dansk Rekyl Riffel Syndikat / Dansk Industri Syndikat
- Category
- Machine Gun
- Country
- Denmark
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1952 to 1965
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 660 mm
- Overall length
- 1290 mm
- Weight, empty
- 11.60 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Gas operated short stroke
- Firing mechanism
- Open bolt
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 50
- Magazine
- Belt
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Phosphate
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 825 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 3243 J
- Effective range
- 1000 m
- Maximum range
- 3000 m
- Rate of fire
- 850 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Quick-change barrel- Selectable rate of fire
Bipod
Tripod mount capable
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 32 7.62x51mm NATO machine guns | 11.60 kg | 10.51 kg | Heavier than about 70% |
| Overall lengthAmong 32 7.62x51mm NATO machine guns | 1290 mm | 1149 mm | Among the longest tenth |
| Barrel lengthAmong 32 7.62x51mm NATO machine guns | 660 mm | 559 mm | Among the longest tenth |
| Magazine capacityAmong 222 machine guns | 50 | 50 | Near the median |
Answers
Questions about the Madsen Saetter M1950
How much does the Madsen Saetter M1950 weigh?
The Madsen Saetter M1950 weighs 11.60 kg (25.57 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Madsen Saetter M1950?
The Madsen Saetter M1950 is chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO.
How many rounds does the Madsen Saetter M1950 hold?
The Madsen Saetter M1950 holds 50 rounds, fed from a belt.
How long is the Madsen Saetter M1950?
The Madsen Saetter M1950 is 1290 mm (50.8 in) long overall, with a 660 mm (26.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the Madsen Saetter M1950?
The Madsen Saetter M1950 is made by Dansk Rekyl Riffel Syndikat / Dansk Industri Syndikat (Denmark). It was designed by Eric Larsen-Saetter.
When was the Madsen Saetter M1950 introduced?
The Madsen Saetter M1950 was introduced in 1952 and discontinued in 1965.
How does the Madsen Saetter M1950 operate?
The Madsen Saetter M1950 uses a gas operated short stroke action, and its firing mechanism is open bolt.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
Provenance
Confidence in this record
60%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/madsen-m1950' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "madsen-m1950", "name": "Madsen Saetter M1950", "manufacturer": { "id": "dansk-industri-syndikat", "name": "Dansk Rekyl Riffel Syndikat / Dansk Industri Syndikat", "countryCode": "DK", "foundedYear": 1896, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-04-26 23:12:00", "updatedAt": "2026-04-26 23:12:00", "version": "a6b761e89dd9a8725e4b9a74b1fd4002295146f177a2b8659707c4894bbb52bc" }, "category": { "id": "machine-gun", "name": "Machine Gun", "description": "Fully automatic firearms for sustained fire" }, "country_of_origin": "DK", "year_introduced": 1952, "barrel_length_mm": 660, "weight_empty_g": 11600, "action_type": "gas_operated_short_stroke"}