Spanish military inventories were sold to civilian wholesalers between 19. Astra continued private production until 1950 even though in 1946 the Spanish military adopted the Star Model A as the standard sidearm.
Astra production after the civil war was for Nationalist troops except serial numbers 92851 to 98850 for Nazi Germany. Ascaso) and Valencia (marked RE for Republica Española). Astra pistols were subsequently produced for Nationalist troops, while Republican forces made approximately 22,000 copies of the pistol in Terrassa (marked F. Astra pistols were supplied to Republican Spain and to the Basque government which controlled the plant until the Bombing of Guernica in April, 1937. The 9mm Largo Astra modelo 400, patented by Pedro Careaga, was selected for the Spanish Army in August 1921, and was also adopted by other Spanish Armed forces. The Spanish War Ministry of King Alfonso XIII began tests in 1919 to replace the Campo Giro pistol as the standard military sidearm. Underrated in the past by some American gun experts, who in general, had a poor view on Spanish guns, because of its origin and its “tubular” “water pistol” looks, the pistol is today an interesting collector piece, and much appreciated specially among German collectors, and it is also an accurate service pistol for target shooting, thanks to its low axis over the hand.Ī powerful pistol, original 9mm largo Spanish military loads were on a par with. It gained fame among Spanish African and Civil War veterans as a strong very reliable pistol, specially under mud and sand conditions, thanks to its hidden hammer, sealing its mechanism from the external elements and its forged slide and frame construction. The 400 was considered heavy as in order to handle the power of the 9mm Largo round in a blowback action the 400 had a reinforced slide and tough spring. The Spanish Navy, along with the German Luftwaffe and the Chilean Navy primarily used the smaller variant Astra 300 and the Wehrmacht later altered the Astra 400 into the Astra 600 to better handle the 9mm Luger. The pistol was mass-produced and many examples still exist today. It was the standard issue sidearm in the Spanish Army during the Spanish Civil War and also saw service in Germany during World War II. as a replacement for the Campo-Giro 1913/1916, which had also been chambered in 9mm Largo. The Astra modelo 400 was a Spanish service pistol produced by weapons manufacturer Astra-Unceta y Cia SA.