Le Brong
Crucelegui Hermanos · Pistol · Out Of Production · 1910
Also known as: Le-Brong, Brong, Bronnie, Crucelegui Le Brong
Overview
The Le Brong is a small .25 ACP (6.35mm Browning) striker-fired blowback vest-pocket semi-automatic pistol produced in Eibar, Spain, by the firm Crucelegui Hermanos in the early 20th century. Like the great majority of Eibar trade-name pocket guns of the period, it is a close copy of John Browning's FN Model 1906 vest-pocket automatic, feeding from a six-round detachable box magazine through a roughly 54mm barrel and using a simple blowback action with a concealed striker. 'Le Brong' was one of several romantic-sounding trade names — alongside Puppy, Velo-Mith, Bron-Sport, Brong-Petit and C.H. — that Crucelegui Hermanos applied to its small handguns to make inexpensive locally made arms more attractive to buyers. Build quality was modest, typical of the low-cost cottage gunmaking that flourished around Eibar before the Spanish Civil War.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 350 g (12.3 oz) |
| Overall Length | 114 mm (4.49") |
| Barrel Length | 54 mm (2.13") |
| Height | 80 mm (3.15") |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Striker Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 6 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 230 m/s (755 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 86 J (63 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 15 m (16 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 50 m (55 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 6 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Slide Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .25 ACP · primary — also known as 6.35x16mm Browning, 6.35mm Browning, .25 Auto
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety
- Features: Browning Pattern Copy, Concealed Hammer, Fixed Sights, Vest Pocket Design
Service history
Operators
- European civilian market
Production
Production years: c.1910-1936
Part of the broad output of Eibar trade-name pocket pistols produced before and up to the disruption of the Spanish Civil War. No reliable total-production figure is recorded.
Origin
Country of origin: Spain
Discontinued: 1936
Notes
'Le Brong' is a Crucelegui Hermanos trade name rather than a formal model designation; the firm reused several near-interchangeable brand names (Puppy, Velo-Mith, Bron-Sport, Brong-Petit, C.H.) across small pistols and revolvers, so individual specimens vary in detail. The .25 ACP automatic described here follows the FN/Browning 1906 vest-pocket pattern; specifications are estimated from that pattern as no detailed factory data survives. No reliable total-production figure is recorded.
Background
The Le Brong belongs to the flood of cheap Spanish vest-pocket automatics that poured out of Eibar in the early 1900s, when lax patent enforcement let local workshops freely copy John Browning's pocket pistols. Sold under a string of catchy trade names by Crucelegui Hermanos, guns like the Le Brong armed shopkeepers and travellers across Europe as discreet, last-ditch self-defense pieces.