19th Century Semiautomatic Pistols Compendium

Charola y Anitua patent drawing

In 1897, Charola y Anitua of Eibar, Spain, designed a semi-automatic pistol that was similar to a scaled-down C96 chambered for the 5 mm cartridge. The first guns had a tapered barrel without a sight band, an elongated safety lever and an integral magazine with detachable floorplate that held six rounds. As per the Mauser, loading was through the top via a stripper clip. Several samples were forwarded to the Spanish military for an early test trial. To no one’s surprise, except perhaps Charola’s, the gun—with its ridiculously underpowered cartridge—was quickly dismissed. Undeterred, Charola went on to introduce several variations, including a version in 7 mm with a detachable magazine. Complicated to make and relatively expensive, total production of all variations made from 1897-1905 was about 8,400 guns.