Vesta
Hijos de Angel Echeverria y Cia · Pistol · Discontinued · 1912
Also known as: Vesta 1912, Hijos de Echeverria Vesta, Eibar pistol, Spanish Ruby
Overview
The Vesta is a Spanish blowback semi-automatic pistol chambered in .32 ACP, built in Eibar by Hijos de Angel Echeverria from around 1912. It is a classic Eibar/Ruby-type sidearm patterned on John Browning's FN Model 1903: a fixed-barrel straight-blowback action with an internal hammer, a single-action trigger, an external extractor, slide grasping grooves and a manual safety lever above the trigger. The detachable box magazine is retained by a heel release at the base of the grip. Marketed under the 'Vesta' trade name, the pistol was produced in large numbers during the First World War, when the French Army's vast appetite for inexpensive service handguns drew in dozens of small Basque workshops.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 850 g (30.0 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 930 g (32.8 oz) |
| Overall Length | 155 mm (6.10") |
| Barrel Length | 83 mm (3.27") |
| 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 | 290 m/s (951 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 195 J (144 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, Lanyard Ring
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: 1912-1936
One of at least 45 Eibar-region firms producing Ruby-type pistols; roughly one million Ruby-pattern pistols were made in Spain in total, with the French Army ordering tens of thousands per month at the peak of WWI demand.
Origin
Country of origin: Spain
Discontinued: 1936
Notes
Vesta-marked pistols carry an 'HE' manufacturer code for Hijos de A. Echeverria. The Vesta name was also applied to small pocket pistols in .25 ACP and to a line of solid-frame revolvers from the same firm. Quality varied across the many Eibar makers; examples were typically chambered for 7.65mm Browning with 7- to 9-round magazines.
Background
A loophole in Spanish patent law let small Basque workshops copy Browning's pistol freely, and when France desperately needed sidearms in 1915 these Eibar makers flooded the front with inexpensive .32 ACP pistols built to no single common standard. Hijos de Echeverria's 'Vesta' was one such trade name among hundreds.