ASTRA Model 900

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Spain’s government arsenals were less committed to the manufacture of pistols than rifles, the army’s primary weapon. As a result, semiautomatic pistol development in Spain initially lagged somewhat behind that in other European countries. When Spain adopted its first semiautomatic—the Pistola Bergmann de 9mm Modelo 1908—it ordered it from the Belgian firm AEP (Société Anonyme Anciens Establissement Pieper).

 

Despite this apparent slight to domestic gun makers, Spain had a strong tradition in the craft and eventually became an international leader in pistol production. The Spanish pistol-making industry was chiefly concentrated in the Basque towns of Eibar, Elgolibar, and Guernica and ranged from small, family-owned shops to larger companies capable of mass production. The Basque region thrived from the sale of handguns—chiefly copies of various designs by John Browning—to domestic as well as foreign customers. These pistols became known collectively, regardless of manufacturer, as Eibartype, or Ruby, pistols. World War I proved particularly profitable to the area because other European countries, most notably France and Italy, bought tens of thousands of these Spanish semiautomatics to supplement their own output. Owing to lax government proofing standards at the time, many of these pistols were of dubious quality; the reputation of Spanish pistols suffered accordingly.

 

During the period leading up to and including the Spanish Civil War (1936–1937), fighting between the opposing forces disrupted the region, including its arms production. After the war, Generalissimo Francisco Franco’s regime exerted more control over Spain’s arms makers and began a more selective and systematic approach to obtaining sidearms for the military and police. By 1940 most of the smaller makers were forced to close shop, and the large concerns of Astra, Star, and Llama dominated Spanish handgun manufacture. The reduced number of manufacturers and more stringent government inspections contributed greatly to the reemergence of Spain as a producer of pistols equal to those of other major arms-manufacturing countries.

 

Astra

The firm that eventually became known as Astra was founded in 1908 by the partnership of Don Juan Pedro de Unceta- Baerenechea Cendoya and Don Juan Esperanza. The production of some 50,000 6.35mm and 7.65mm Browning-type Victoria pistols began at Eibar, but operations soon shifted to Guernica. Following 1914 the company began marking its pistols using the Astra brand. During World War I Astra manufactured more than 35,000 Browning- type Ruby pistols for the French and Italians. The company then went on to develop the Campo-Giro Models 1913 and 1913/16 into its highly successful Model 1921/400 series, followed by the Models 300, 600, and 900. The forces of Francisco Franco as well as those of the Republicans used Astras during the Spanish Civil War. The factory escaped the widely condemned destruction of Guernica by the Germans’ infamous Condor Legion bombing attack of 25 April 1937.

 

Campo-Giro Model 1913 and 1913–1916

Early Spanish military semiautomatics, although somewhat heavy, were well-made and reliable. In 1904 a former Spanish Army officer, Don Venancio Lopez de Ceballos y Aguirre, Conde del Campo-Giro, patented an autoloader that he developed at the government’s Fabrica de Armas Portátiles de Oviedo. Campo-Giro’s was a locked-breech design chambered for the Model 1908’s powerful 9mm Bergmann-Bayard cartridge (known as the 9mm Largo in Spain). Campo-Giro continued to refine his pistol and by 1912 had discarded the pistol’s locked-breech mechanism in favor of a simpler blowback design. Esperanza y Unceta manufactured the new pistol, known as the Campo-Giro Model 1913.

 

As most blowback weapons were designed for weaker cartridges, the Model 1913 and its successors were fitted with a very stiff spring coiled around the barrel to absorb the recoil. The recoil spring thus required considerable effort to pull the slide rearward to cock the weapon for a first shot. The Model 1913 was loaded with an eight-round magazine fitted in the base of the grip. A thumb-operated safety was located on the left of the pistol. Three years after introducing the Model 1913, Unceta brought out a slightly improved model, the Model 1913–1916. Slightly more than 14,000 of both types were manufactured, and further development ceased following Campo-Giro’s accidental death soon after their introduction (Ezell 1981: 539).

 

Astra Model 400/ Model 1921

Esperanza y Unceta continued to develop Campo-Giro’s pistol and submitted the reworked design to the Spanish military in 1920. Known as the Astra Model 400 in its civilian form and designated the Pistola de 9 millimetros modelo 1921 (Model 1921) for military use, the new Astra offered a very unique feature. Rather than accepting a single type of cartridge, the Model 1921/400 was chambered to fire both the 9mm Largo and 9mm Parabellum cartridges. Moreover, under emergency circumstances it could also accommodate 9mm Steyr, 9mm Browning Long, and the .38 Super Automatic cartridges. Among some circles this unusual ability earned the pistol a rather unflattering nickname: the “Ashcan.” Such versatility was, however, an advantage during wartime when the availability of proper ammunition is sometimes tenuous.

 

The commercial Model 400 is most readily distinguishable from the military Model 1921 in that most Model 400s are fitted with hard rubber grips (most military pistols had wood grips). Civilian pistols are also somewhat better-finished and often have nickel- or chrome-plated minor components. Both models are equipped with manual, grip, and magazine safeties. Typical markings on the tubular shaped slide include the Astra starburst logo on the top and either “ESPERANZA Y UNCETA” or “UNCETA Y COMPANIA, GUERNICA ESPANA” and “PISTOLA DE 9M/M MODELO 1921.” The insignia of the various Spanish military and police organizations indicate the issue of Spanish government–owned pistols. During the Spanish Civil War the Republicans also produced Model 1921 copies marked “RE” (Republica Española, or “Spanish Republic”). The French Army and Chilean Navy procured small quantities of Model 1921s, and the German Wehrmacht purchased approximately 6,000. Total production of the Model 400 and Model 1921 was 106,175 (Ezell, 1981: p. 558). The Modelo 400 remained in Spanish service until 1950.

 

Model 300 In 1922

Astra scaled down the Model 400 to chamber the 9mm Browning (.380 ACP or 9mm kurz) cartridges to produce the Model 300 for issue to Spanish prison personnel. The next year the company also began producing the pistol in 7.65mm (.32 ACP) for civilian and export sales. In 1928 the Spanish Navy adopted the Model 300 in its 9mm chambering. The company made 171,300 Model 300s until production ceased in 1947. During World War II the German Luftwaffe purchased 63,000 pistols in caliber 9mm kurz and an additional 22,390 in 7.65mm. The Nazi designation for the Model 300 was Pistole Astra 300.

 

Model 600

The later Astra Model 600 also bore a strong resemblance to the Model 400 but was not accepted by the Spanish Army. Owing to the close ties between the Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco, and Adolf Hitler, however, Nazi forces acquired approximately 10,450 of the Model 600 in 9mm Parabellum. The Nazi designation for the Model 600 was Pistole Astra 600/43, with those issued to the West German police after the war being designated the P3.

 

Model 900 series

The severe arms limitations imposed on Germany by the Versailles Treaty crippled such companies as Mauser’s export trade yet provided Spanish makers, including Astra, new opportunities. Eastern warlords, especially in China, were particularly fond of the Mauser Model 1896 Broomhandle and were eager to acquire more. Astra thus stepped in with the Model 900, chambered for the 7.63mm Mauser cartridge, very similar in appearance to the Broomhandle, and equipped with a wood shoulder stock/holster rig. Although the Model 900 shares the Broomhandle’s looks and 10-round integral magazine, it is internally quite different. Astra simplified the internal design of the Model 900 to make it more economical to manufacture and modified its locking system. A screwed-on side plate allowed internal access (avoiding Mauser’s method of inserting the entire mechanism in one unit through the back of the pistol frame). Production of the Model 900 continued from 1928 until the Spanish Civil War interrupted Astra’s operations in 1937.

 

In 1928 Astra also began manufacturing selective-fire versions of the Model 900—the Models 901 and 902. The actual military value of such selective-fire pistol-carbines as the Astras and Mauser Schnellfeuer is often the subject of debate—the light weight of the weapons combined with their rapid rate of fire rendered them all but impossible to accurately aim after the first shot. The continued recoil of the weapon then tended to push the barrel ever higher until the last shot of the burst was launched at a 90-degree angle to the first. By that point the magazine had typically been emptied owing to its small capacity and the pistol’s blazing cyclic rate. Still, such pistols appealed to the more dramatic sort and enjoyed a certain popularity during the period.

 

The selective-fire pistols have slightly larger hammers and grips than the Model 900 and are fitted with a firing-mode selector lever on the right side of the frame above the trigger. Pressing the lever down allows full-automatic fire, with the upper position providing semiautomatic use. The longer-barreled Model 903 appeared in 1932 and can accept either 10- or 20-round detachable magazines. The Model F was intended to arm Spain’s Guardia Civil (Civil Guard) and as such is chambered for the country’s official caliber 9mm Largo cartridge. Only 950 were delivered before Basque forces captured the factory in 1936. The Model F’s greatest improvement over the earlier selective-fires consists of a flywheel device in its grip that lowers the pistol’s cyclic rate from 900 to 350 rounds per minute. The reduction of the firing rate lessens the tendency of the pistol to climb during full-automatic fire and thus aids accuracy.

 

Royal

Two brothers, Juan and Cosme Beistegui, established Beistegui Hermanos in 1909. During World War I the brothers produced Rubytype pistols for France and Italy and in 1926 began manufacturing selective-fire copies of the Mauser Broomhandle for the Chinese market under the brand name Royal. The Royal shares the Broomhandle’s caliber 7.63mm cartridge and wood shoulder stock/holster but, like the Astra, was easier to manufacture. It incorporated a cylindrical bolt rather than the Mauser’s squared bolt and was manufactured with 10- and 20-round integral magazines as well as models accepting 10-, 20-, and 30-round detachable magazines. A later model was also fitted with a mechanism to retard its cyclic rate. Beistegui Hermanos manufactured about 23,000 Royals before the factory was destroyed in 1937.

 

Star Modelo Militar 1920

 

José-Cruz Echeverria and his son, Bonifacio, of Eibar manufactured Ruby-type pistols for France and Italy during World War I before adopting the Star trade name in 1919. The firm then made its first foray into the military market with the Star Modelo Militar 1920, a design based on the Colt-Browning swinging link system and chambered for the 9mm Largo cartridge. The pistol’s appearance is also highly derivative of the U.S. design and, other than its lack of a grip safety, looks very much like the Colt Model 1911. The pistol’s safety, mounted on the back of the slide, was at least somewhat original to Echeverria and blocks the hammer and firing pin. Although disappointed by a lack of interest by the Spanish Army, Star did win a contract for the Model Militar 1920 with the Guardia Civil. Slide markings are generally “BONIFACIO ECHEVERRIA, S.A.-EIBAR-ESPAÑA STAR.”

 

Star Model 1921 and 1922

Although generally pleased with the Modelo Militar 1920, the Guardia Civil objected to the slide-mounted safety and requested suitable modifications. Star responded quickly and soon followed the Modelo Militar 1920 with the Model 1921, a pistol that incorporated a frame-mounted safety as well as a grip safety. The grip safety, however, proved unpopular with Guardia Civil officers, forcing Star to resubmit the design without the safety as the Model 1922. The Model 1922 at last satisfied the Guardia Civil. Designating it the Model A, Star also offered the new pistol on the civilian market. Star continued to improve the design with the Model 1931, adding a curved and checkered back strap to provide a more comfortable grip and giving the pistol an even closer resemblance to the Colt Model 1911. Following the Spanish Civil War the pistol was redesignated the Model 1940 and in 1946 replaced the Astra Model 1921 (Model 400) in Spanish Army service. The improved Super Star was used by a number of South American nations and remained in Spanish service until production ended in 1983. In keeping with the Spanish fascination with full-automatic handguns, Star also offered a selective-fire version of the Model 1922 equipped with a wood shoulder stock/holster and available in a variety of calibers.

 

Llama Pistola Automatica Llama 9mm Marque IX

Gabilondo y Urresti began business in 1904 in Guernica. The company then moved to Elgolibar after producing as many as 200,000 of the obligatory Ruby pistols for France and Italy during World War I. Later, under its new name, Gabilondo y Compañia, the company manufactured and marketed a number of Browning-derived pistols during the 1920s and 1930s. These included a 7.65mm (.32 ACP) selective-fire model that found some acceptance in the Chinese market, with a small number going to Japanese air forces (Ezell 1981: 564). The 9mm Llama Especial also saw use with Nationalist troops during the Spanish Civil War (Hogg 2001: 62). During the 1930s Gabilondo y Compañia continued its expansion by manufacturing quality copies of the Colt Model 1911 in various calibers under the brand name Llama. A typical pistol of the World War II period, the Pistola Automatica Llama 9mm Marque IX was chambered in 9mm Largo for Spanish military and police use. It was also used by various other powers, primarily in South America, in 9mm Parabellum and 9mm Short.