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Ruby
Gabilondo Ruby, Warsaw's Museum of the Polish Army
Type	Pistol
Place of origin	Spain
Production history
Designer	Fabrique Nationale de Herstal
Designed	1914
Variants	Gabilondo, Izarra, numerous others.
Specifications
Weight	850 g
Length	~160 mm
Barrel length	81 - 94 mm
Cartridge	7.65 x 17 mm (.32 ACP)
Action	blowback
Feed system	Detachable box magazine, 9 rounds
Sights	Fixed

The semi-automatic Ruby pistol is best known as a French World War I sidearm, the Pistolet Automatique de 7 millim.65 genre "Ruby". A very international piece of weaponry, it was closely modeled after the American John Browning's M1903 by the Belgian Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, and was produced primarily by the Spanish Gabilondo y Urresti-Eibar firm (the official "Gabilondo Ruby"). They contracted to produce ten thousand (later thirty thousand) of these pistols per month for the French Armee de Terre in 1915, the second year of the First World War. The Bonifacio Echeverria firm was enlisted as a subcontractor to help fill the order, as were several smaller firms throughout the northern Basque region of Spain.^[1]

The design was mass produced for both military and civilian use, and was widely copied, sometimes without license. Consequentially, many poorly manufactured variants exist, and collectors should handle an unknown "Ruby" with great caution; some have been reported to be so flawed that they fired when being loaded. All models produced for French military use were shipped to the Manufacture d'Armes de Bayonne in France for inspection, and pistols which were accepted and issued as sidearms will have two small stars stamped into the bottom of the grip.^[2]

The Fabrique Nationale was, along with Colt, one of the two primary manufacturers of the Browning M1903.^[3] It designed the Ruby to be a simpler, less expensive, and more easily produced alternative; most notably, the Ruby design lacked the grip safety found on the Browning. Like the M1903, the Ruby had a simple blowback operation with an internal hammer, and fired 7.65mm x 17mm (.32 ACP) caliber rounds. The original version had a nine round magazine, but some subcontracted variants held only seven or eight rounds. Although Gabilondo discontinued the original 7.62 mm Ruby in 1919, production of a 6.35 mm (.25 ACP) caliber model with the same name continued.^{[citation needed]}

The primary disadvantage of the pistol was that it was too large and heavy for its caliber; nor was it particularly accurate. The small caliber combined with a relatively slow muzzle velocity gave the pistol little stopping power. In later years, it became notorious for the lack of standardization of parts between different versions, resulting in a widespread incompatibility of parts that made the Ruby difficult to maintain. This variation was so extreme that in some cases, "Ruby" pistols would be unable to load "Ruby" magazines from a different manufacturer.^[4]

• The Spanish Ruby Pistol Explained (Download) by Gerard Henrotin, (H&L Publishing, 2004)

1. ^ Hernandez, Patrick (2003). Pistolet Automatique de 7 millim.65 genre "Ruby". 151ème Régiment d'Infanterie de Ligne!. Retrieved on December 13, 2006.
2. ^ Star Firearms — Izarra 'Ruby' Contract Pistols. Star Firearms: Pre-1920 pistols. Star Bonifacio Echeverria, S.A.. Retrieved on December 13, 2006.
3. ^ Popenker, Max R.. Modern Firearms - handgun: FN / Browning M.1903 (Browning No.2) pistol (Russian, English). Modern Firearms & Ammunition. Retrieved on December 13, 2006.
4. ^ Revolvers & Pistols Part 3: Ruby M/19 and FN pistols. Jaeger Platoon: Finnish Army 1918 - 1945 Website (2006-06-30). Retrieved on December 13, 2006.