Showing how to field strip a STAR Model SS .380 pistol from 1978.


Wikipedia: The Star Model S was a Spanish semi-automatic pistol manufactured by Star Bonifacio Echeverria, S.A. and designed to use the .380 ACP cartridge. Like many semi-automatic handguns, the basic design of the Star Model S is based on the .45 calibre Colt 1911 but it is much smaller, lighter, and lacks some of the safety features of the Colt pistol. It is this lightness and lack of safety features that make this a fast gun.

At one time the Star Model S was the official sidearm of the Spanish Foreign Legion. The Star Model S was imported into the United States by the Interarms company of Alexandria, Virginia. Interarms went out of business in early 1990s at about the same time the Star company went out of business. The Star Model S is no longer manufactured.[1]



Information on the Star Model S series of pistols: [ Ссылка ]


The S series are all similar, compact, all steel locked-breech pistols chambered in .380 or .32 ACP. Practically every firearms manufacturer made pocket pistols in this approximate size range and these calibers, up through the 30's, many of them in Spain. A number of these were knockoffs of the Browning 1903, which Star — as well as dozens of other Eibar-region makers — made extensively.

Though the S is apparently just an extension of the pre-war pocket pistol, they are in fact scaled down versions of the full-sized Star pistols, complete with a short-recoil locked-breech. Whether derivitives of the A or B series (or the M or P sub-variants) is not entirely clear, but at the time of their introduction in 1940 B series pistols had been on the market for nearly a decade.

Throughout the series, both .32 ACP (7.65 mm) and .380 ACP (9 mm Browning Short or 9 mm Corto) versions have been made. In all cases, the base model is in .380, while an "I" suffix denotes a .32 caliber chambering. Most parts interchange between the two, but as the cases are different sizes, there is no way to simply switch out a few parts and change calibers. No other calibers, such as .22 LR, were made. The ultra-rare Super Target model (Super-SM) was not apparently made in .32

S-Series Pistols in Military Service

The S has been used by the police and armed forces of a number of countries, especially by troops who value space and weight the most, such as aviators. Unlike other military issue pistols, the model S seems to have never been produced in year-coded versions. The commerical, letter-coded variants were used for service instead.

I do not have anything like a comprehensive list, but know that certain units of World War II Luftwaffe aircrew were issued a model S of some sort. The Spanish Air Forces also issued them, and Marine pilots retained them in service up thru the early 1990s. Most model S pistols issued for service seem to have been stamped by the issuing organization. All those I have seen are on the right side of the slide, forward of the ejection port, as the Spanish Air Force seal is to the left.

Although I have seen several references to the Luftwaffe pistols being not Nazi proofed — and of this being a very unique thing in German service — recent troubles with identification of Model B (.08) pistols lead me to report it with a grain of salt. If you think you have a German issue model S, you might. I just have no way to tell right now.

свернуть