The pistols these 4 companies, Armera Elgoibaressa y Cia, Echealasa y Vincinai y Cia,, Hijos de Angel Echeverria y Cia, produced were not of the Gabilondo quality but were accepted by the French government.
This was far more than Gabilando could produce so he contracted with others to produce for him.įour smaller companies contracted with Gabilondo to produce 5000 pistols a month each and along with the 10,000 he could produce, he was able to fulfill the 30,000 needed. Four months later orders would be increased to 30,000 a month. My understanding is that at this time Gabilondo had 5 employees. The guns were actually purchased by Les Ouvriers Reunies and from there went to the French gvernment. At the beginning of WWI Gabilondo presented the gun to France for trials and it was accepted in 1915 with orders for 10,000 a month. It was the first to have a 9 round magazine because Gabilondo had built it to be used by the Military or Police. It was a well made gun with fair tolerances, so parts were interchangeable within its own brand. They started making a gun in 1914 based on the Browning 1903 and the modifications of the design by earlier guns like the Astra Victoria 1911 and called it the Ruby.
Pic isn't very good but the best I can do at the time It also had the encircled EU with a crown which I have never seen before. The one I have seen had Spanish proofs and that is not consistent with there not being a proof house in Ebiar at that time. The patent was a weird form of loading the gun by sliding the right grip and inserting the rounds into the butt directly. The patent of the "Radium" was in the name of Don Guillermo Echeverria and of Don Valentin Vallejo. Gabilondo y Uresti started producing the Radium seven shot 6.35 in 1910. Because of the cheap prices Llama's might not have been finished as well as the Colt, but with a bit of work, polishing parts, they work great and I have some early ones that are fantastic. During the 80's they went to making the XI-A 9mm P a blow back, I think to cut down on manufacturing costs and that did not help either. Llama also is reported to have made bad guns during the 80's, but to this day I have never found one. They simply failed to compete with all of the other gun manufacturers out there, I think due to the bad reputation Spanish guns acquired during the first World War and the restrictions place on them by the Spanish government. This followed the demise of Astra and Star in about 1997. In 2005 Llama closed its doors for the last time due to lack of sales and a bankruptcy.
I do it to show that there were major changes made to the guns every few years and there were even variations within those years.
LLAMA GUN SERIAL NUMBERS SERIES
I want to inform you before you go any further that the designations of series and variation are my designations and not those of Llama. The years the series of IIIA's were made however is still in question. A large number of the guns were in my collection to assist in this endeavor and I think I now have it all as it should be. This research project has been both a rewarding and frustrating experience.
RK Smith There is an enormous amount of incorrect information out there about the model numbers on the guns Llama made and I have done my best in identifying them to correct it. Llama means Flame in Spanish, but they used the animal as their logo as well.
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