Paul reviewed two Spanish Ruby pistols for this report. The Alkartasuma (top) is very close to the standard Ruby pattern, while the Liberty 1914 (bottom) has a shorter barrel and slide.

World War I is often referred to as a handgun war because the typical infantry rifle was ill-suited to the unique conditions of the conflict. In the close confines of a trench, or when crawling through barbed-wire entanglements, a long, bayoneted rifle was a hindrance. Frontline troops soon realized that a pistol or revolver was a necessity--to say nothing of a comforting companion--when it came to trench fighting. It wasn't long before most armies were issuing sidearms in greater numbers than ever before or since.

Officers, artillery and machine-gun crews, signalers, messengers, transport drivers, military police, and every infantryman who could beg, borrow, or steal one wanted--and in many cases needed--a handgun. But this led to another problem: Most armies lacked sufficient handguns (and rifles, machine guns, and artillery pieces for that matter) to equip their rapidly expanding forces.

The situation was worse in l'armee francaise than in any other army. France's standard issue sidearm, the Mle. 1892 Revolver d'Ordnance, could not be produced in sufficient quantities to meet demand, so while many older Model 1873 revolvers were reissued, it was only a stopgap measure. At first, the French ordered revolvers from the Basque gunmakers who delivered copies of Smith & Wesson and Colt revolvers chambered for the standard 8mm revolver cartridge. But high levels of battlefield attrition meant that more weapons were needed--and fast!

French soldiers of the Groupe de Bombardiers du 163 Regiment d’Infanterie on the Vosges front were equipped with Ruby pistols. Courtesy of Jean Claude Fombaron.

The mountainous region around the city of Eibar in northeastern Spain possessed an abundance of iron, coal, and waterpower. When combined with the industriousness of the Basque people, these things led to the development of a large metalworking industry, much of which had been devoted to the production of weapons since the 17th century. Eibar firearms production was based upon cottage-type industries where the company would subcontract out the production of various components to small shops that would deliver them to a central location for fitting and assembly.

Because of Spain's lax patent laws, the Basques were notorious for the manufacture of unlicensed copies of well-known firearms, and they sold them around the world at cut-rate prices. So it was no surprise that shortly after the introduction of the first successful semiautomatic pistol--Fabrique Nationale's Modele 1900--in 1905 Basque gunmakers began production of simple, blowback-operated pistols chambered for the 7.65mm Browning (.32 ACP) cartridge. They were based upon the FN Model 1903 and Colt Model 1903 designs. But as was the usual practice with their pirated copies, the Basques simplified the basic design to reduce production costs and time.

Basque pistols possessed none of the fine lines and ergonomics of the FN/Colt, and most displayed a squared-off silhouette with a steep grip-to-frame angle. They replaced the Browning's efficient but difficult to produce thumb and grip safeties with a simple lever on the left side of the frame, which blocked trigger movement when rotated up 45 degrees. This device also did double duty as a slide-holdover lever to help disassemble the pistol.

Another identifying feature was the curved grasping grooves at the rear of the slide that could be cut quickly--and cheaply--with a simple lathe. Because of their place of origin, these handguns became known generically as Eibar pistols.

Like the FN/Colt, the Basque pistols had the spring located in the frame under the barrel where it was secured by a guide rod, greatly simplifying the machining of the interior of the slide. Other areas where they copied Browning were the heel-style magazine release, ribs on the barrel that mated to grooves on the frame to secure the two units together, and an internal hammer.