The Astra Model 900 is one of many Spanish copies of the German
Mauser C96 semi-automatic pistol. It shares the same caliber, magazine capacity, and holster type and is generally very similar to the German handgun.
Machine-pistol variants
The
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
-manufactured
Astra-Unceta y Cia SA
Astra Unceta y Cía was a Spanish weapons manufacturer founded on July 17, 1908, under the name Esperanza y Unceta by Juan Esperanza and Pedro Unceta.
Initially based in Eibar, the centre of the Basque arms industry, the company moved in 1913 t ...
Astra 901 is a compact
machine pistol
A machine pistol is an autoloading pistol capable of fully automatic fire. The term can also be used to describe a stockless handgun-style submachine gun. The term is a calque of ''Maschinenpistole'', the German word for submachine guns. Ma ...
, with a magazine capacity of 10
7.63×25mm Mauser
The 7.63×25mm Mauser (.30 Mauser Automatic) round was the original cartridge for the Mauser C96 service pistol. This cartridge headspaces on the shoulder of the case.Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pistols'', p.247. Plantersville, SC: Smal ...
cartridges, which is a considerably smaller capacity than is standard for a machine pistol. The next model, the Astra 902, was provided with a fixed magazine of 20 cartridges and a lengthened barrel, and Astra 903 had a removable magazine instead of the usual fixed one. Astra later added a mechanism to slow the rate of fire and make the gun more manageable (to an extent) when being fired on
full-auto or
burst modes, calling this the Model 904. The Model 904 is comparable to the German
Mauser M712 'Schnellfeuer' Broomhandle pistols, having a detachable magazine, automatic fire capabilities, and general appearance.
The Astra Model 904 was produced in a
9 mm Largo variant, the Astra Model 904E, which was identical to the Model 904 in all other respects.
Production and distribution
* Astra 900: 21,000 weapons from 1927 to 1941 for China,
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
,
Spanish Republicans, and the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
(1,050 delivered in 1943).
* Astra 901: 1,655 weapons in 1928, destined mainly for China.
* Astra 902: 7,075 weapons in 1928 to 1933. Some delivered to China, others delivered to the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
in 1943.
* Astra 903: 3,082 weapons in 1932 to 1934. Same users as the 902.
* Astra 904: 90+ weapons in 1934.
* Astra F: 1,126 weapons in 1936. Issued to the
Guardia Civil
The Civil Guard ( es, Guardia Civil, link=no; ) is the oldest law enforcement agency in Spain and is one of two national police forces. As a national gendarmerie force, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the au ...
during
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
.
* Astra E: 548 weapons assembled between 1949, 1951 and 1961 from stored parts. Reserved for export to Egypt, India, Iraq and Pakistan.
* 8 × Astra 900, 12 × Astra 902, and 9 × Astra 400, all richly engraved, were presented to
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
during the Spanish Civil War in 1937.
Users
*
*
See also
*
Bergmann–Bayard model 1910
References
{{Reflist
* Luc GUILLOU & PHILIPPE GOURIO, ''The Astra Guns'', Pardès Editions, 1991
External links
Astra 903 Advertising
Machine pistols
Semi-automatic pistols of Spain
World War II infantry weapons
9mm Largo firearms
7.63×25mm Mauser firearms