Armas productión in the Basque Country after the Civil War

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On the 30th of December 1941 and the 27th of December 1944, two new Regulations on Arms and Explosives were introduced, stipulating the conditions to be met by any company wishing to start or continue manufacturing small arms.

Clause 72 of the1941 Regulation read: Licence to manufacture small arms will only be granted to those companies which undertake to complete the whole production process in an industrial plant with a closed perimeter. All the components used in the weapon must be made on the premises with the sole exception of screws, springs and frames as forged, for which suppliers must possess express permission from the Guardia Civil. This warrant will specify which company the parts are for, and they remain subject to the terms of the Regulation. Finished weapons will be kept in the factories in a specially designed store that meets the necessary safety requirements in the opinion of the Department of Arms Inspection and Intervention.

These requirements, coupled with the reluctance of the administration to return machinery confiscated during the Civil War, put an end to the structure that had hitherto characterised the Basque arms industry and led to the closure of many companies in that sector, with the exception of Astra, Unceta y Cía in Guernica; Star, Bonifacio Echeverría in Eibar and Gabilondo y Cía in Elgoibar, as well as the shotgun makers, who were not so directly affected by the law.