Astra

The Astra 600/43 pistols are a Spanish made pistol manufactured by Unceta y Compania.  During World War II, the German Wehrmacht requested a redesign of the Astra 400 so that it would chamber the 9x19 Parabellum cartridge.  Germany ordered a total of 50,000 of the pistols to be used by German armed forces.  However, the order and initial delivery of the first batch of pistols took place just prior to the Allied invasion of Normandy.  Only a little over 10,000 pistols from the order were able to be delivered to Germany before supply lines between Spain and Germany were cut.  Astra had already been paid for the full 50,000 unit order so they decided to finish production anyway.

Most of the pistols were not sold until after the end of World War II with some of them going to the Chilean Air Force, Portuguese Navy and West German police.  These pistols became known as “second contract” pistols.  West German police forces continued using the pistols until the late 1960s.

Our pistol is serial number 34838.  The serial number is stamped on both the right side of the slide and the right side of the frame.  The standard Spanish three proof marks are on the left side of the frame.  We believe that the middle of the proof marks indicates 1945 production.

This pistol is chambered in 9mm, has a 5.25 inch barrel, a blued finish, fixed sights and checkered wood grips.  A manual safety is on the left side of the frame and there is an additional grip safety.  The bore is clean, the barrel is bright and the rifling appears to be crisp.  The grips are in Good + condition and show only light wear.  There are areas of finish loss and the photos will show that.  Most of the finish lost is on the rear of the slde, while there is additional loss on the left side of the barrel.  The finish is in overall Fair or better condition.

The included leather holster is in Fair – Good condition and shows normal signs of use.  This was likely a duty holster and reflects that use.

Overall this is a very interesting, vintage pistol with a unique story and would be a very nice addition to your collection.

Purchase includes the pistol as shown, 2 Astra magazines and a leather belt loop holster with pouch for extra magazine.

This is a consignment sale and, like all of our consignments, we have not test fired this pistol.  We have performed our function checks and any discrepancies are noted above.  As with all pre-owned firearm purchases, please review the photos carefully so that you are fully comfortable with the condition of the pistol.