Gaztañaga Sureté
Gaztañaga y Compañía · Pistol · Discontinued · 1915
Also known as: Surete, Sureté, Eibar pistol, Spanish Ruby
Overview
The Gaztañaga Sürete is a Spanish blowback semi-automatic pistol chambered in .32 ACP, a Ruby-type sidearm produced in the Basque arms town of Eibar during and after the First World War. Built by Isidro Gaztañaga, who also marketed pistols under the Destroyer and Indian brands, the Sürete follows the Eibar pattern derived from John Browning's FN Model 1903: a fixed-barrel straight-blowback action, a nine-round detachable box magazine fed through a heel release, an external extractor, slide grasping grooves and a safety lever above the trigger. Gaztañaga was among the many Eibar firms contracted to feed the French Army's enormous wartime demand for inexpensive service pistols.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 850 g (30.0 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 950 g (33.5 oz) |
| Overall Length | 155 mm (6.10") |
| Barrel Length | 89 mm (3.50") |
| Height | 110 mm (4.33") |
| Width | 30 mm (1.18") |
| Sight Radius | 120 mm (4.72") |
| 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) |
| Maximum Range | 100 m (109 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: External Extractor, Heel Magazine Release, Slide Grasping Grooves, Fixed Sights
Service history
Operators
- French Army · adopted 1915 · as Pistolet Automatique de 7 millim.65 genre "Ruby"
Conflicts
- World War I (1914-1918)
Production
Production years: 1915-1920
One of at least 45 Eibar-region firms producing Ruby-type pistols; roughly one million Ruby pistols were made in total across all makers, with the French Army ordering tens of thousands per month from 1915.
Origin
Country of origin: Spain
Designer: Isidro Gaztañaga
Discontinued: 1920
Notes
'Sürete' (a play on the French sûreté, meaning safety/security) was one of several commercial trade names Isidro Gaztañaga applied to his Ruby-type pistols. French contract examples bear an 'I.G.' cartouche on the frame. As with all Eibar makers, quality and exact dimensions varied between batches because there was no single common standard.
Background
A loophole in Spanish patent law let small Basque workshops copy Browning's pistol freely, and when France desperately needed sidearms in 1915 Eibar makers like Isidro Gaztañaga flooded the front with inexpensive .32 ACP Rubies sold under a clutter of trade names — Sürete, Destroyer and Indian among them — built to no single common standard.