Best known as the designer of the →Mars pistol, made in small numbers by →Webley & Scott early in the twentieth century, this English engineer was also associated with the development of semi-automatic rifles. Among his patents were two granted in the U.S.A., 600066 of 1st March 1855 of 8th October 1901, but none of the guns were successful and it is believed that Gabbett Fairfax was bankrupted c.

The →Mars Automatic Firearms Syndicate was formed in January 1904 to exploit Gabbett Fairfax’s patents, but lasted just three years before itself entering liquidation. The inventor was active as late as 7th January 1919, when British Patent 141128 was granted to protect an endless-chain magazine for auto-loading rifles. Gabillot rue Désirée 36, Saint Étienne, France. This gunmaking business was responsible for the →Danton and possibly also for the →Veritable Mosser Superior. More recently, it has been associated with the ‘Llama’ series of automatic pistols, including the compact 6.35mm Model 17 and Model 18. Gabilondo y Urresti Founded in Guernica as ‘Gabilondo cousins’, this Spanish gunmaking business became ‘Gabilondo y Urresti’ in 1909. Developers of the →Ruby-pattern pistols made in great numbers for the French (and subsequently also the Italian) army during the First World War, the company was given an open-ended contract for ten thousand pistols monthly in the Spring of 1915 this was subsequently trebled, forcing Gabilondo to recruit five additional contractors-SA Alkartasuna, Fábrica de Armas of Guernica Beistegui Hermanos of Eibar Eceolaza y Vicinai of Eibar Hijos de Angel Echeverria of Eibar and Bruno Salaverria y Cia of Eibar. PAGE 2 : THE DICTIONARY OF GUNS AND GUNMAKERS Production is believed to have totalled 150,000–200,000 by November 1918. There, until the early 1930s, 6.35mm, 7.65mm and 9mm Short blowback pistols based on the FN-Brownings were made under names such as →Ruby, →Danton and →Bufalo. A variant of the Ruby with a large capacity magazine (20–22 rounds) and often also a selective-fire capability, was made in small quantities in 1927–33 for export to China. At this time, however, a decision was taken to introduce copies of the locked-breech Colt-Browning. The first gun, the Llama Modelo IV, appeared commercially in 1931.

Francotte patent .303 rifle