7.65 mm Gabilondo Ruby Automatic Pistol

• Pistola Automatica "Ruby" 7.65 mm

• 7.65 mm Gabilondo Ruby Automatic Pistol

• 7,65 pist/19, pistooli m/espanjalainen

The 7.65 mm Browning was a very popular caliber in the beginning of the century but successful pistols using it are few and far between. While sufficient for law  enforcement purposes, the Browning round was unsuitable for military use because of its limited stopping power and accuracy.

Based on the Browning type automatic pistol, the Ruby is a short-barreled, unremarkable weapon. During the First World War literally scores of small Spanish factories  produced it, the main customers being France and Italy, both  of which had an urgent need for pistols. Despite its low quality the wartime demand for the 7.65 mm Ruby pistol was such that it was kept in production until 1919. That same year the French War Ministry was all too glad to sell Finland 10,000 pistols, which were designated the m/19.

The Ruby proved to be totally unsuited for serious use. Pistols made by different factories had non-interchangeable parts. Materials and workmanship were substandard and ten years later twenty percent of the pistols were no longer serviceable. In addition the pistol was heavy for its size, inaccurate, unreliable and lacked stopping power. A combination of the worst features associated with automatic pistols, the Ruby is  considered by some experts to be completely worthless as a means of personal protection.

Despite these deficiencies the Finnish Army was forced to use the Ruby pistol in both the Winter War and the Continuation War, though the type was mostly relegated to supply echelon and home front personnel. The remaining pistols were sold to collectors and Army personnel in the Sixties and Seventies. The type was finally retired in 1986.