The Handgun Story by John Walter
Author:John Walter
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781783469741
Publisher: Frontline Books
Published: 2013-08-22T16:00:00+00:00
The Browning Copies
A good example of the fluctuating fortunes of the small handgun was provided by the introduction of the 6.35mm Browning pocket pistol, which, greeted with great acclaim, inspired a frantic rush to find a suitable competitor. These trends were most obvious in Europe; for though the Browning was made under licence in the USA by Colt, North American purchasers were, by and large, firmly wedded to the revolver and regarded the low-powered semi-automatic with suspicion.
Browning’s patents prevented direct copies of his pistol being made in most European countries, where any infringements could often be pursued with vigour through the courts, and ensured that many of the earliest rival designs were ineffectual: the need to find ‘something different’ hamstrung many inventors, who were forced to make guns that were often much more complicated to manufacture than the FN-Browning and often structurally weaker. Most of the earliest guns appeared in Belgium, made by gunmakers such as Clément and Pieper in and around Liége. Comparatively few of them survived the German occupation of Belgium during the First World War to reappear after the fighting had ceased.
The most productive copyists – judged in terms of quantity, if not quality – resided in the Basque region straddling the Franco-Spanish border. The small provincial town of Eibar was the traditional centre of the Spanish gunmaking industry, renowned for the diversity of its wares. There had never been a shortage of men eager to follow the gunmakers’ calling, and there had been occasional flashes of inventiveness: Orbea had made a working gas-operated revolver in 1863 and the best products offered good standards of material and workmanship. However, at the other end of the scale, the products could be truly awful. Though a proof house existed in Eibar, no mandatory proof existed in Spain until 1925; tests were left to the individual conscience. When the first FN-Browning pocket pistols appeared, enterprising Spanish gunmakers saw their chance.
The first boom period of the Spanish pocket automatic lay in the years immediately prior to the First World War, when a variety of near-facsimiles of the Belgian prototype were promoted. Not all of them were poor; from this period, well-known gunmaking companies such as Esperanza y Unceta (later ‘Astra’) and Gabilondo y Cia laid the foundations of long-term success, but for each well-organised business there were ten cottage workshops. David Penn, writing in the British periodical Handgunner, once summarised the situation in an article entitled ‘The Golden Age of Spanish Trash’ – harsh, but fair.
The basic pre-1914 guns duplicate the Browning, though shortcuts were taken to minimise the need for complicated machining operations (few Eibar gunsmiths of the day had sophisticated machine tools), simplify construction, and save money. Consequently, the way in which the barrel was attached to the frame was greatly simplified, the magazine catch became a simple spring-latch on the butt heel, and the grip safety catch was customarily abandoned. Changes were also made to the manual safety catch.
Identifying the individual guns is often very difficult. Though it
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