In 1920 the Guardia Civil was looking for a new standard sidearm. The design of the Modelo A has its history intertwined with three other Star pistols, the Modelos Militar 1920, 1921, and 1922. It was at this time that the mystery 9mm/.38 markings were applied to the pistols if they were reworked to handle the semi-rimmed. To further confuse the issue, as pistols were returned to Star by the Spanish Government as surplus they would be refurbished and if necessary a new serial number applied. Therefore serial numbers and proof marks must be used to correctly determine the model designation of the 1921, 1922, 1931, 1940, and 'A' pistols. Both the government and civilian versions underwent several design changes, but only the government version was redesignated. At this time the government pistol became known as the 1940, the civilianversionn was still the 'A'. After a production hiatus for the Spanish Civil War, production was continued. In 1934 the rear sight and method of retaining the firing pin were changed, model designation remained the 1931 and 'A'. Sometime between 19 the pistol underwent continued improvements (mostnoticeablyy an arched and checkered backstrap) and redesignated the 1931, the civilian version was notredesignatedd. The grip safety was also removed from the civilian 'A', but the model designation was not changed. Star next removed the grip safety from the 1921 and redesignated it as the 1922. Once Star caught up with the Guardia Civil orders they began offering the pistol on the civilian market as the 'A', these were numbered in a separate serial number range from the 1921. After making changes to the 1920 recommended by the Guardia Civil the pistol was redesignated the 1921. The 1920 was produced solely for the Guadia Civil. First a brief note on Star model designations for the Modelo 1920, 1921, 1922, 1931, 1940, and 'A' family of pistols.
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August 2023
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