POTD: Before The Astra 400 – The Spanish Campo-Giro
Sam.S 11.10.23
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! The Campo-Giro was Spain’s first homegrown military semi-auto pistol, cooked up by Colonel Don Venancio Lopez de Ceballos y Aguirre (thats quite a name) and adopted in 1912. Spain was ready to replace the old Belgian Bergmann-Mars pistols they’d been using. The Campo-Giro packed 8 rounds of 9mm Largo ammo and used a clever delayed blowback system to handle the stout round. After a small run of M1912 pistols, the M1913 model came out with a simpler blowback design using a recoil spring and buffer. Further tweaks like a redesigned frame and grip led to the M1913-16 version that became the standard. While well-made, the Campo-Giro was a pain to take apart. So the Spanish declared it obsolete in 1919 and replaced it with the Astra 400. But the Campo-Giro still saw plenty of action again during the Spanish Civil War. Despite its short service life, the Campo-Giro pioneered Spanish semi-auto pistol design, paving the way for even better guns later.
“Reportedly, 13,000 of these pistols were manufactured. The left of the frame is marked “<Pist.a aut.a mod. 1913-16>/11565” ahead of an early Spanish military acceptance mark of a circle divided into three equal parts, and the top of the slide is marked “CAMPO-GIRO/PAT. 34798-54214/1904-1913/five pointed star inside a wreath/ESPERANZA/Y/UNCETA/GUERNICA”. The star and wreath logo is also stamped on the left side of the magazine, which has a matching serial number located on the follower. Fitted with two piece checkered walnut grips. Lanyard loop at the base of the back strap. Complete with an unmarked Spanish military leather flap holster with a magazine pouch on the flap, leather strap, and a pouch on the back containing a brass cleaning rod.”
Lot 3369: Spanish Campo-Giro 1913-16 Semi-Automatic Pistol with Holster – Scarce Spanish Campo-Giro Model 1913-16 Semi-Automatic Pistol with Holster. (n.d.-b). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved November 10, 2023, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/88/3369/spanish-campo-giro-1913-16-semi-automatic-pistol-with-holster.
