Echave y Arizmendi Pathfinder
Echave, Arizmendi y Cia (Echasa) · Pistol · Discontinued · 1959
Also known as: Echasa Pathfinder, Pathfinder
Overview
The Echave y Arizmendi Pathfinder is a Spanish blowback-operated pocket pistol built in Eibar by Echave, Arizmendi y Cia (Echasa) during the ECHASA period of roughly 1959 to 1969. Pathfinder was one of the many export trade names the firm applied to its Walther PP-pattern pocket automatic, a design also sold as the Basque, Echasa, Fast, Dickson Special Agent and Lur-Panzer. Like its siblings it used a lightweight alloy frame with a blued steel slide and was offered in .22 LR, .25 ACP, .32 ACP and .380 ACP, feeding from a detachable box magazine, and was aimed chiefly at the American civilian market.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 454 g (16.0 oz) |
| Overall Length | 159 mm (6.26") |
| Barrel Length | 76 mm (2.99") |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 7 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 280 m/s (919 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 180 J (133 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 25 m (27 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Aluminum |
| Slide Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Plastic |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .32 ACP · primary — also known as .32 Auto, 7.65mm Browning, 7.65x17mmSR
- .22 Long Rifle — also known as .22 LR, 22 LR, 5.6x15mmR
- .25 ACP — also known as 6.35x16mm Browning, 6.35mm Browning, .25 Auto
- .380 ACP — also known as .380 Auto, 9x17mm, 9mm Kurz, 9mm Short
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety
- Features: Fixed Sights, Alloy Frame
Production
Production years: c. 1959-1969
Exact figures undocumented. Produced during the ECHASA period (1959-1969) alongside the Basque, Echasa, Fast, Dickson Special Agent and Lur-Panzer brands. Output was aimed at the US export market and ended when the Eibar factory closed in 1969, the firm undone by the 1968 US Gun Control Act's import restrictions.
Origin
Country of origin: Spain
Discontinued: 1969
Notes
Pathfinder was a marketing/trade name rather than a distinct design; the same PP-style Eibar pocket pistol was sold under numerous brands (Basque, Echasa, Fast, Dickson Special Agent, Lur-Panzer, Renard). Model names were stamped on the slide and grip plates. Specifications given here are those of the .32 ACP variant of the family and are shared with the closely related Basque and Fast; other calibers vary slightly in size and magazine capacity (typically ten rounds in .22 LR, nine in .25, seven in .32 and six in .380). Exact figures specific to the Pathfinder brand are not separately documented.
Background
Eibar in the Basque Country was Spain's pocket-pistol capital, and firms like Echave y Arizmendi sold near-identical guns under a rotating cast of catchy export brand names to stand out in the crowded American market. 'Pathfinder' was one such name, evoking the outdoors for US buyers, stamped on the very same alloy-framed pistol also sold as the Basque and the Fast. When the 1968 US Gun Control Act barred cheap imported handguns, the export trade that sustained these pistols collapsed and the Eibar factory shut its doors in 1969.