Beistegui Hermanos Model 1914
Beistegui Hermanos · Pistol · Discontinued · 1914
Also known as: Ruby pistol, Eibar pistol, B.H. Model 1914, Bulwark, Martian
Overview
The Beistegui Hermanos Model 1914 is a Spanish blowback-operated semi-automatic pistol chambered in .32 ACP. One of the many 'Ruby' or 'Eibar' type pistols built by small Basque gunmakers, it copied the Browning FN Model 1903 layout with a fixed barrel, shrouded hammer, and single-stack nine-round magazine. Beistegui Hermanos of Eibar produced large numbers of these inexpensive sidearms during the First World War to fill bulk Allied orders, chiefly for the French and Italian armies.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 800 g (28.2 oz) |
| Overall Length | 155 mm (6.10") |
| Barrel Length | 83 mm (3.27") |
| Height | 108 mm (4.25") |
| Width | 30 mm (1.18") |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 9 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 300 m/s (984 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 200 J (148 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 25 m (27 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 6 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Slide Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .32 ACP · primary — also known as .32 Automatic, 7.65x17mm Browning SR, 7.65mm Browning
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety
- Features: Fixed Sights, Shrouded Hammer, Browning Pattern Action
Service history
Operators
- French Army · adopted 1915 · as Pistolet Automatique de 7 millim.65 genre Ruby
- Royal Italian Army · adopted 1915
Conflicts
- World War I (1914-1918)
Production
Production years: 1914-1925
Part of an estimated one million Ruby/Eibar-type pistols produced across the Basque region; France ordered tens of thousands per month from Spanish makers during WWI.
Origin
Country of origin: Spain
Designer: Beistegui Hermanos
Discontinued: 1925
Notes
Specimens are typically marked '7.65 1914 MODEL AUTOMATIC PISTOL BEISTEGUI HERMANOS - EIBAR (ESPANA)'. The maker's pistols were sold under several trade names; quality varied widely across the 45-plus firms making Ruby-type pistols, and magazines were often not interchangeable between makers.
Background
When France desperately needed sidearms in 1915 it turned to the gun town of Eibar, where dozens of small workshops including Beistegui Hermanos churned out cheap copies of the Gabilondo 'Ruby' faster than any single factory could. The flood of near-identical but subtly incompatible pistols became a logistics headache that has fascinated collectors ever since.