The only product bearing the name of this Eibar-based company is a copy of the S&W Military & Police revolver in ·38 Special. The barrel is marked FDO POR BARRENECHEA Y GALLASTEGUI, EIBAR, SPAIN which leads to the conclusion that the partnership was simply a sales outlet and that the gun was made elsewhere. Comparison with others suggests that it was made by Manuel Escodin.
Type: solid-frame revolver. Calibre: ·38. Length overall: 10·43in/265mm. Weight, unladen: 28·6oz/810gm. Barrel: 4·88in/124mm, rifled.
Magazine: six-chamber cylinder.
BASCARAN [I] (SPAIN)
Martin A. Bascaran of Eibar set up in business during the First World War, but instead of the usual Ruby sub-contract produced a weapon of original design and good quality. About 1920 he brought his family into the firm and continued to make Martian and Thunder pistols until recession in the late 1920s brought business to a close.
Martian: The first version of this 6·35mm or 7·65mm pistol appeared early in 1915. Well made and finished, it was a simple blowback.
However, instead of the usual Browning-inspired method of attaching the barrel to the frame by lugs beneath the breech, Bascaran's squared-off barrel had a ridge on top and shoulders beneath. It was unlocked from the frame by pulling the rear of the trigger guard down and away from the butt. The slide was shaped internally to ride on the squared sides and ridge, keeping the working parts securely aligned during recoil.
Martians were striker-fired and had an unusual safety catch on the left side, in front of the grip, which moved vertically to disconnect
the sear from the trigger—a considerable improvement on the usual Eibar-pattern catch. Slides are usually marked AUTOMATIC PISTOL MARTIAN CAL... and carry Bascaran's trademark of an encircled 'MAB' monogram. The grips have Martian embossed across them.
The design of this model was probably too complex for wartime mass-production; as a result, Bascaran abandoned it sometime in 1916 and transferred the name to a run-of-the-mill 7·65mm 'Eibar' copy of the 1903-model Browning. Marked FA. DE MARTIN A. BASCARAN EIBAR MARTIAN CAL 7·65, it fulfilled wartime military contracts; production continued after 1919, alongside a 6·35mm model based on the Browning of 1906. Both were known as the 'Martian Commercial'. The grips are embossed with the encircled 'MAB' trademark, surrounded by MARTIAN COMMERCIAL. Production ceased about 1927.
Type: automatic pistol (blowback). Chambering: 7·65mm Auto. Length overall: 6·10in/155mm. Weight, unladen: 22·0oz/623gm. Barrel:
3·46in/88mm, rifled. Magazine: eight-round detachable box.
Thunder: While Bascaran was quite content to rely on the second-model Martian for his bread-and-butter, he was aware that there was still a market for a better product. The Thunder of 1919 was simply the original 6·35mm Martian. The quality was much higher than that of the Martian Commercial but, strangely, identifying marks were omitted from the slide. The only acknowledgement was THUNDER embossed across the grips. The pistol remained on sale until the late 1920s.
Thunder M1919: Type: automatic pistol (blowback). Chambering: 6·35mm Auto. Length overall: 4·41in/112mm. Weight, unladen:
13·2oz/375gm. Barrel: 1·97in/50mm, rifled. Magazine: six-round detachable box.
BASCARAN [II] (SPAIN)
Hijos de Jorge Bascaran of Eibar made unremarkable 7·65mm Eibar-type pistols called Marke and Martigny. Though information is scant, it seems that the company was formed when Martin Bascaran brought his brothers into his business after the First World War. Whether the one Bascaran company grew out of the other, or traded concurrently, is not yet known. The Marke and Martigny guns were probably made in 1920. However, though many authorities have noted their existence, we have never found any examples.
BAR: Made by Sauer & Sohn prior to 1914.
7·65mm Eibar-type Martian.
BASCULANT (VARIOUS)
1: A 6·35mm blowback based on the 1906-model Browning, this was made by Aguirre Zamacolas y Cia of Eibar in c.1925-9. A simple design of no particular merit, it should not be confused with Pieper guns of the same name.
Type: automatic pistol (blowback). Chambering: 6·35mm Auto. Length overall: 4·53in/115mm. Weight, unladen: 10·9oz/308gm. Barrel:
2·17in/55mm, rifled. Magazine: seven-round detachable box.
2: A trade name used by Pieper of liege in catalogues to signify guns embodying the tip-down barrel feature of his 1905 patent. The mark did not appear on the pistols themselves.
BAUER (USA)
The Bauer Firearms Corporation of Fraser, Michigan, trading in 1972-84, made a 6·35mm blowback pistol based on the Baby Browning. Offering high quality, the 'SS' (Satin Stainless) and 'SB' (Stainless Blued) models could be obtained with walnut or simulated pearl grips. The Bauer was among the best of the several 6·35mm designs which appeared contemporaneously after the US Gun Control Act of 1968 placed restrictions on small imports.
Type: automatic pistol (blowback). Chambering: 6·35mm Auto. Length overall: 4·00in/102mm. Weight, unladen: 10·1oz/285gm. Barrel:
2·13in/54mm, rifled. Magazine: six-round detachable box.
BAYARD (BELGIUM)
Use of this trademark was made by Henri Pieper & Cie, subsequently briefly Henri & Nicolas Pieper and latterly Anciens Etablissements Pieper of Herstal-lez-Liege. But the pistol of this name was based not on any of Pieper's patents but those of Bernard Clarus; and while they may appear to be ordinary Browning-type blowbacks externally, internally they display considerable novelty.
The pistol is a fixed-barrel blowback with the slide forming an upper section over the exposed barrel.
The breech block and the firing pin are contained in the deepened rear section of the slide, in addition to the inverted hammer suspended from a cross-pin. The sear is also suspended in the slide, behind the hammer, being hung so that it connects with the trigger bar when the slide is forward and the breech closed. The outer sides of the hammer carry rollers, aligned with two inclined ramps formed from the rear end of the frame. The rear of the above-barrel recoil spring fits in a tube screwed to a frame
transom, which also holds the breech end of the barrel; the front of the spring is enclosed in an extension to the front sight collar. This unit is detachable, held in place only by the pressure of the recoil spring; by pressing the front sight back, and allowing it to rise clear of the slide, the recoil spring and its guide rod can be removed. The slide can then be drawn back, up and off the frame.
The butt contains a standard box magazine. When the pistol is fired, recoil carries the slide, hammer and sear back. The rollers on the hammer ride up the ramps on the frame against the pressure of a leaf spring, until the hammer engages with the sear and is held in its cocked position. As the slide returns and chambers a new round, the sear stops behind a retaining piece attached to the trigger bar. When the trigger is pulled, this retainer is forced back, pushing the sear free and allowing the hammer to drop and strike the firing pin.
The Clarus patents were bought by the Pieper company in 1908 and the pistol appeared late in 1909. Earliest guns chambered 7·65mm Auto ammunition, but were joined by a 9mm Short model in 1911 and a 6·35mm version in 1912. Only the barrel, magazine platform and breech face were changed to suit the various cartridges; the guns were all 4·75in long overall with a 2·5in barrel. That such a small gun could be made in 7·65mm and 9mm was originally attributed to the 'recoil absorbing' feature claimed by Clarus in his patent owing to the action of the ramps and hammer. However, there seems no good warrant for the claim; other manufacturers subsequently made pistols just as small. Perhaps Pieper simply saw the value of the recoil absorbing claim as a way of boosting sales at the expense of others.
Markings on all models comprised CAL... MODULE DEPOSE on the left front side of the slide, generally with ANCIENS ETABLISSEMENTS PIEPER LIEGE BELGIUM below, and the mounted knight trademark above BAYARD over the left grip.
Production continued until the Germans occupied the factory in 1914, and then resumed in 1919. New models were announced in 1923. These resembled the 1910-type Browning externally, but retained the peculiar Clarus hammer and sear system. The same three calibres were retained, though the 6·35mm gun was significantly smaller than its cousins. A slight change in the magazine catch was made in 1930, but this was not sufficient to warrant changes in designation. The modernised Piepers were made until the Germans invaded Belgium in 1940.
Bayard M1910: Type: automatic pistol (blowback). Chambering: 7·65mm Auto. Length overall: 4·92in/125mm. Weight, unladen:
16·6oz/470gm. Barrel: 2·24in/57mm, rifled. Magazine: five-round detachable box.
Bayard M1912: Type: automatic pistol (blowback). Chambering: 6·35mm Auto. Length overall: 4·80in/122mm. Weight, unladen:
12·0oz/340gm. Barrel: 2·20/56mm, rifled. Magazine: five-round detachable box.
Bayard M1930: Type: automatic pistol (blowback). Chambering: 7·65mm Auto. Length overall: 5·71in/145mm. Weight, unladen:
12·0oz/340gm. Barrel: 2·17in/55mm, rifled. Magazine, six-round detachable box.
BAYONNE (FRANCE)
Manufacture d'Armes de Bayonne was founded in 1921 and produced a wide range of soundly-designed pistols for many years. Guns were made for German military and police use during the Vichy period (1940-4) and may be seen with standard German acceptance marks. Commercial
production resumed after the end of the Second World War and, in the 1960s, MAB obtained a contract to provide the French military forces with the 9mm Parabellum PA-15. Difficulties in the mid 1980s forced the company to close, despite an unsuccessful rescue bid. This left the French forces without an indigenous handgun supplier, and they eventually settled on the Beretta Model 92 as a replacement.
Excepting a few that were named for specific markets, Bayonne-made pistols were all known by 'MAB' and a model number.
Bayard:
6·35mm.
BAYARD: A typical 6·35mm Pieper made Bayard pistol.
The illustration emphasizing its small size is taken from the 1911 catalogue produced by A. L. Frank of Hamburg.
MAB Model A: This first appeared in 1921 and remained in production until the company closed. It was a 6·35mm blowback automatic based on the 1906-pattern Browning, with grip, magazine and applied safety devices.
MAB Model B: Introduced in 1932 and manufactured until 1949, this was an improved 6·35mm automatic with obvious Beretta overtones in the open-topped slide and the barrel formed as part of the frame. The slide was marked in what became the standard pattern for the company's pistols: PlSTOLET AUTOMATIQUE MAB BREVET 'MODULE B'.
Type: automatic pistol (blowback). Chambering: 7·65mm Auto. Length overall: 6·89in/175mm. Weight, unladen: 9·5oz/270gm. Barrel:
3·93in/100mm, rifled. Magazine: eight-round detachable box.
MAB Model C: Dating from 1933, this was the first MAB design to carry the return spring around the barrel in the manner of the 1910-type Browning. The butt is unusually deep from front to rear, giving the pistol an ungainly appearance but offering a firm grip. The Model C was originally produced in 7·65mm Auto chambering, then in 9mm Short. The slide marking took the usual MAB form, though the 9mm model may be marked '9mm' or '·38' for sale in Europe or the USA respectively.
MAB Model D: Basically a lengthened Model C, with the same general layout but a four-inch barrel, this was introduced in 7·65mm calibre in 1933. Joined by a 9mm Short version, it remained in production until the company closed.
MAB Model E: This is post-1945 design is little more than an enlarged Model D, strangely chambered only for 6·35mm cartridges.
Type: automatic pistol (blowback). Chambering: 6·35mm Auto.
Length overall: 6·22in/158mm. Weight, unladen:
20·0oz/567gm. Barrel: 3·23in/82mm, rifled. Magazine: nine-round detachable box.
MAB Model F: An unusual ·22 RF pistol introduced in 1950, this was basically the Model B—with an open-topped slide—and barrels varying from 2·65in to 7·25in. Target sights of varying degrees of luxury could be fitted to suit the purchaser's fancy. The well-raked butt ensured that the Model F pointed well and it made a useful low-price target pistol when fitted with a long barrel.
MAB Model GZ: This 7·65mm pistol differs from the usual Bayonne designs largely because it was made by Echave y Arizmendi of Eibar in the 1950s and 1960s. Generally resembling the Model C, with a concentric return spring, it was hammer-fired and used a dismantling catch on the left rear of the frame to release the slide. The slide was marked ECHASA-EIBAR (ESPANA) CAL ·32 (7·65MM) MODELO GZ-MAB ESPAGNOL.
Maker: Echave y Arizmendi, Eibar, for Manufacture d'Armes de Bayonne. Type:
automatic pistol (blowback). Chambering:
6·35mm Auto. Length overall: 6·22in/158mm.
Weight, unladen: 9·0oz/255gm. Barrel: 3·15in/80mm, rifled. Magazine: eight-round detachable box.
MAB Model R: This superficially resembles the Model D, but has an external hammer instead of an internal striker. It came in three versions: 'R Court', chambered for 7·65mm Auto; 'R Longue' for 7·65mm Longue; and 'R Para' for 9mm Parabellum. The 7·65mm models were
conventional blowbacks, but 'R Para' was redesigned to incorporate a rotating-barrel breech lock. Gas pressure initially attempts to drive back the slide, but a lug on the barrel, engaged in a spiral track in the slide, ensures that rearward movement of the slide must be
accompanied by rotary movement of the barrel. Barrel rotation is resisted by the torque created by the bullet engaging the rifling. Pioneered in the Savage pistol (q.v.), this 'locked breech' is more of a delayed blowback—yet it was satisfactory, although the 9mm Model R did not sell as well as the 7·65mm versions.
MAB Model PA-15: This militarised 'R Para', suitably strengthened and with a fifteen-round magazine, retained the rotating-barrel locking system. It was accepted by the French army in the 1970s, when stocks of MAC Model 50 pistols began to dwindle, and has remained in use ever since. After the collapse of Manufacture d'Armes de Bayonne, a new gun was needed; the situation at the time of writing is that the navy and Gendarmerie Nationale have adopted the Beretta 92F, but the army awaits funds to follow suit.
A variant of the PA-15 known as the PA-PF1 has a lengthened barrel and slide, plus target sights. It is used by French armed forces competition teams.
Type: automatic pistol (delayed blowback).
Chambering: 9mm Parabellum. Length overall:
9·65in/245mm. Weight, unladen:
38·8oz/1,100gm. Barrel: 6·00in/152mm, rifled.
Magazine: fifteen-round detachable box.
MAB 'Le Chasseur': Introduced in 1953, this was a Model F with an external hammer, chambered for ·22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridges.
Alternative barrel lengths, sight options and anatomical grips were available.
7·65mm MAB Model D.
Bayonne: ·22 LR rimfire MAB Model F.
Bayonne: 9mm MAB PA-15.
MAB Winfield: Bayonne-made pistols were sold under this name by the Winfield Arms Corporation of Los Angeles. Early models had slides marked MADE IN FRANCE FOR WAC, but in later years the pistols were given new names for the American market; the Model C was sold as 'Le Cavalier', the Model D became 'Le Gendarme' and the Model R Para was entitled 'Le Militaire'.
BEATTIE (BRITAIN)
James Beattie traded in Regent Street, London, in various guises from 1850 to 1894—James Beattie, J. Beattie & Son, J. Beattie & Co. His name can be found on various pinfire and centre-fire revolvers. Most have Belgian or similar European origins and lack additional identification; Beattie was merely a retailer whose name, in the style of the time, was placed on guns he sold.
BEAUMONT (NETHERLANDS)
The sole venture of the de Beaumont company of Maastricht into the pistol business concerned Dutch service revolvers; no commercial production was ever undertaken. When the Dutch adopted the 1903-model Browning pistol in 1911, production of revolvers ceased even though some remained in reserve until 1940.
Model 1873: These are often called Chamelot-Delvigne revolvers, but bear nothing other than a general resemblance to others bearing that name. Variations include 1873 O.M. (old model), a typical solid-frame product of the time with a hinged loading gate and a separate ejector rod carried in the holster. Chambered for the 9·4mm Dutch Service cartridge, the double-action 1873 O.M. was followed by the 1873 N.M.
(new model), which was lighter and had a cylindrical rather than octagonal barrel. Finally came the 1873 Kl.M. (small model), reduced in all dimensions except calibre, with an octagonal barrel and a five-shot cylinder instead of the six shot pattern.
Model 1873 O.M.: Type: solid frame revolver. Calibre: 9·4mm. Length overall: 10·98in/279mm. Weight, unladen: 45·3oz/1,285gm.
Barrel: 6·30in/160mm, rifled. Magazine: six chamber cylinder.
BEHOLLA (GERMANY)
This 7·65mm blowback pistol was developed by Becker & Hollander of Suhl, who had manufactured rifles and shotguns prior to the First World War. Production of the Beholla pistol began in 1915, to meet demands made by the German army, and continued until 1918. Virtually all bear official acceptance stamps. Beholla pistols were also made under the names Leonhardt, Menta and Stenda (q.v.); it is believed that the German authorities ordered production of several Beholla-type pistols to begin simultaneously, but
confirmation is still lacking and it is probable that some were assembled and sold after the end of the First World War.
The only unusual feature of the Beholla design concerned a dovetailed lump on the barrel beneath the chamber, which slid into a matching seat in the frame and was retained by a pin. The pin must be punched out before dismantling the gun, suitable holes being
provided in the slide; the slide is then pulled back and locked by turning the safety catch upward, and the barrel can be driven back until it is free from its seat in the frame. The slide and barrel may then be removed. Slides were marked SELBSTLADE PISTOLE BEHOLLA CAL 7·65 on the left and BECKER U HOLLANDER WAFFENBAU SUHL on the right.
Type: automatic pistol (blowback). Chambering: 7·65mm Auto. Length overall: 5·51in/140mm. Weight, unladen: 22·oz/640gm. Barrel:
2·95in/75mm, rifled. Magazine: seven-round detachable box.
BEISTEGUI (SPAIN)
The affairs of Beistegui Hermanos of Eibar are tortuous; in addition to making and selling their own pistols, the brothers made pistols to be sold by others and acted as sales agents for pistols made elsewhere. As it is difficult to unravel the parentage of some guns, the entry for 'Grand Precision' should also be consulted—as that Eibar company marketed many Beistegui products.
The Beistegui brothers, like many others, obtained their foothold in the pistol business in 1915 by accepting a sub-contract from Gabilondo to make Ruby automatics; they continued to produce pistols until closed by the Civil War.
Beistegui: This is the original Ruby model, doubtless made on the machinery installed for French contract work. It was marketed as the ' 1914 Model' and is a standard 7·65mm Eibar-type blowback, offering generous size and a lanyard ring
on the butt. The slide displays 1914 MODEL AUTOMATIC PISTOL BEISTEGUI HERMANOS EIBAR (ESPANA) and the grips are the usual plain chequered pattern.
B.H.: Pistols have been reported in 6·35mm and 7·65mm, but none has yet been authenticated; if they exist, they are probably post-1918 commercial versions of the Beistegui with plastic grips displaying a suitable monogram. The company did produce a 'B.H.' revolver, copied from the Smith & Wesson M&P and chambering ·38 S&W Long cartridges. Resemblance is heightened by a florid 'B&H' monogram
B.H.: Pistols have been reported in 6·35mm and 7·65mm, but none has yet been authenticated; if they exist, they are probably post-1918 commercial versions of the Beistegui with plastic grips displaying a suitable monogram. The company did produce a 'B.H.' revolver, copied from the Smith & Wesson M&P and chambering ·38 S&W Long cartridges. Resemblance is heightened by a florid 'B&H' monogram