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Title:	PISTOL, SEMI-AUTOMATIC -  SPANISH PISTOL ASTRA MODEL 600/43 (P(ASTRA)600/43) 9MM SN# 2374
Maker/Manufacturer:	UNCETA Y COMPANIA
Date of Manufacture:	1943-1945
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 973
Measurements:	OL: 21.5C 8 1/2" BL: 12.9C 5 1/8"

Object Description:

SPANISH PISTOL ASTRA MODEL 600/43 (P(ASTRA)600/43) 9MM SN# 2374
Manufactured by Unceta y Cia, Guernica, Spain - Standard Spanish semi-automatic pistol with 8-round feed mechanism made in Spain for Germany during WWII. Blued finish, checkered wood grips. Weapon weighs approximately 33 oz. Complete with 8-round detachable box magazine.

Markings:
Frame: Eagle/WaA 020/2374. Left side: Spanish proofs.
Slide: UNCETA Y COMPANIA S.A./GUERNICA ESPANA. 2374. Spanish proofs. Astra TM.
Barrel: PIST.PATR.08/Spanish final pistol proof.
Magazine: Astra TM. Military acceptance = 20.

Notes: "The was the smaller version of the Astra 400, 205mm long and chambered for the 9mm Parabellum cartridge. It was manufactured in 1943-44 for the German government. A few may have been chambered for the 7.65mm Parabellum - the evidence is conflicting. A total of 10,450 had been delivered until German occupation of the Franco-Spanish border ceased late in 1944. Production continued until 1946, 49,000 more guns being made for commercial sale. Some went to West German police forces after 1945." - Hogg & Weeks

"MODEL 600 - A 9mm Parabellum version of the Model 400, the Model 600 had a 16-millimeter-shorter barrel. A total of 10,450 were delivered to Germany before the French took control of the Spanish-French border from the Nazis in 1944. Some 28,000 Model 600s went undelivered. In Germany, this pistol was called the Pistole Astra 600/43, and after the war it was used by German police as the P3. Its World War II era price was 31.70 reichsmarks (about $15.50) for the Model 300 and $43.90 reichmarks ($21.50) for the Model 600." - Ezell

References:
Ezell, Edward C. HANDGUNS OF THE WORLD.
Hogg, Ian & John Weeks. PISTOLS OF THE WORLD. DBI Books, Inc. Northbrook, Il. 1992.
Schwing, Ned. 1998 STANDARD CATALOG OF FIREARMS. 8th Ed. Krause Publications. Iola, Wi. 1998.