Ruby pistol

Infobox Weapon|is_ranged=yes


caption= Gabilondo Ruby, Warsaw's Museum of the Polish Army
type= Pistol
name= Ruby
origin=Basque country
designer= Fabrique Nationale de Herstal
design_date= 1914
cartridge= 7.65 x 17 mm (.32 ACP)
action= blowback
weight= 850 g
length= ~160 mm
width=
part_length= 81 - 94 mm
feed= Detachable box magazine, 9 rounds
sights= Fixed
variants= Gabilondo, Izarra, numerous others.
number= The semi-automatic Ruby pistol is best known as a French World War I sidearm, the "Pistolet Automatique de 7 millim.65 genre "Ruby". A very international piece of weaponry, it was closely modeled after the American John Browning's M1903 by the Belgian Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, and was produced primarily by the Spanish Gabilondo y Urresti-Eibar firm (the official "Gabilondo Ruby").

History

They contracted to produce ten thousand (later thirty thousand) of these pistols per month for the French Army in 1915, the second year of the First World War. The Bonifacio Echeverria firm was enlisted as a subcontractor to help fill the order, as were several smaller firms throughout the northern Basque region of Basque Country.cite web
url = http://www.reenactor.net/units/151ri/weps/ruby_pistol.html
title = Pistolet Automatique de 7 millim.65 genre "Ruby"
accessdate = 2006-12-13
author = Patrick Hernandez
last = Hernandez
first = Patrick
year = 2003
work = 151ème Régiment d'Infanterie de Ligne!]

The design was mass produced for both military and civilian use, and was widely copied, sometimes without license. Consequentially, many poorly manufactured variants exist, and collectors should handle an unknown "Ruby" with great caution; some have been reported to be so flawed that they fired when being loaded. All models produced for French military use were shipped to the "Manufacture d'Armes de Bayonne" in Basque country for inspection, and pistols which were accepted and issued as sidearms will have two small stars stamped into the bottom of the grip. The name "Izarra" means "star" in Basque languagecite web
url = http://star-firearms.com/firearms/guns/izarra/
title = Star Firearms — Izarra 'Ruby' Contract Pistols
accessdate = 2006-12-13
work = Star Firearms: Pre-1920 pistols
publisher = Star Bonifacio Echeverria, S.A.]

The Fabrique Nationale was, along with Colt, one of the two primary manufacturers of the Browning M1903.cite web| url = http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg118-e.htm| title = Modern Firearms - handgun: FN / Browning M.1903 (Browning No.2) pistol| accessdate = 2006-12-13| author = Popenker, Max R.| last = Popenker| first = Max R.| work = Modern Firearms & Ammunition| language = Russian, English] It designed the Ruby to be a simpler, less expensive, and more easily produced alternative; most notably, the Ruby design lacked the grip safety found on the Browning. Like the M1903, the Ruby had a simple blowback operation with an internal hammer, and fired 7.65mm x 17mm (.32 ACP) caliber rounds. The original version had a nine round magazine, but some subcontracted variants held only seven or eight rounds. Although Gabilondo discontinued the original 7.65 mm Ruby in 1919, production of a 6.35 mm (.25 ACP) caliber model with the same name continued.Fact|date=February 2007

Disadvantages

The primary disadvantage of the pistol was that it was too large and heavy for its caliber; nor was it particularly accurate. The small caliber combined with a relatively slow muzzle velocity gave the pistol little stopping power. In later years, it became notorious for the lack of standardization of parts between different versions, resulting in a widespread incompatibility of parts that made the Ruby difficult to maintain. This variation was so extreme that in some cases, "Ruby" pistols would be unable to load "Ruby" magazines from a different manufacturer.cite web
url = http://www.jaegerplatoon.net/PISTOLS3.htm#765PIST19
title = Revolvers & Pistols Part 3: Ruby M/19 and FN pistols
accessdate = 2006-12-13
date = 2006-06-30
work = Jaeger Platoon: Finnish Army 1918 - 1945 Website]

ee also

*List of firearms

Bibliography

* "The Basque Ruby Pistol Explained" downloadable ebook by Gerard HENROTIN (H&L Publishing - HLebooks.com 2004)

References