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Title:	PISTOL, SEMI-AUTOMATIC -  SPANISH PISTOL ASTRA MODEL 600/43 (P(ASTRA)600/43) 9MM SN# 3764
Maker/Manufacturer:	UNCETA Y COMPANIA
Date of Manufacture:	1943-1945
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 972
Measurements:	OL: 20.5CM 8 1/8" BL: 12.9CM 5 1/8"

Object Description:

SPANISH PISTOL ASTRA MODEL 600/43 (P(ASTRA)600/43) 9MM SN# 3764
Manufactured by Unceta y Compania, Guernica, Spain - Standard semi-automatic pistol with 8-round detachable box feed mechanism manufactured in Spain for Germany during WWII. Blued finish and checkered wood grips. Fixed sights. Weapon weighs approximately 33 oz. No magazine. Weapon is complete and in very good condition.

Markings:
Frame: Eagle/WaA 020/3764. Left side: Spanish proofs.
Barrel: PIST. PATR. 08/Spanish final pistol proof.
Slide: 3764/UNCETA Y COMPANIA S.A./GUERNICA ESPANIA/ Spanish proof. Astra TM.

Weapon transferred to the Museum from the 4th MP Detachment, Ft. Myer, Virginia on 9 May 1961.

Notes: "This gunmaking business makes a variety of handguns. The company was founded in Eibar in 1908 as Esperanza y Unceta, registered the Astra trademark in 1914, moved to Guernica in 1913, and became 'Unceta y Cia' in 1925. The company was one of only four gunmakers permitted to continue trading after the Spanish Civil War ended in 1939, and the current trading name was officially adopted in 1955....
The business collapsed at the end of 1997 only a few months after Star-Bonifacio Echeveria SA and during a severe recession in the Spanish gunmaking industry. A workforce numbering 103 was dispersed as a result. Some of the assets were acquired by Guerniquesa de Vizcaya, but the current status of the handguns is unclear. They were available for some years after the collapse of Astra, but it is likely that there were being assembled from pre-1997 components." - Hogg & Walter

References:
Hogg, Ian & John Walter. PISTOLS OF THE WORLD. 4th Ed. Krause Publications. Iola, Wi. 2004.
Schwing, Ned. 1998 STANDARD CATALOG OF FIREARMS. 8th Ed. Krause Publications. Iola, Wi. 1998.