(click to enlarge)
Rod bayonet for use on the .30–03 caliber U.S. Rifle M1903. The bayonet stowed in the rifle's forestock.
After using a M1898 Krag rifle to break his opponent's M1903 bayonet, President Theodore Roosevelt ordered that a proper bayonet be designed and fitted to the M1903. Nearly all existing M1903 rifles were converted to use the M1905 bayonet and surviving examples of the rod-bayonet M1903 rifle are exceedingly rare.
This is an original M1903 rod bayonet, made 1903–1905 at Springfield Armory, with the beautiful high-polish blue characteristic of the period.
|M1905||Sword bayonet developed for use on the .30–06 caliber U.S. Rifle M1903, as redesigned in 1905/06. The M1905 bayonet was also used with the M1 Garand and M1903A3 rifles.
The M1892 bayonet was seen as too short for the M1903 rifle, so a longer bayonet was designed (the M1892 bayonet mounts to the M1903 rifle just fine).
As evidenced by the markings, the bayonet and scabbard have likely been together continuously since manufacture in 1907. The vast majority of early bayonets and scabbards were reworked and altered during the two world wars. Totally original specimens such as this example are scarce.
This example was made in 1907 at Rock Island Arsenal. It is in as-issued condition, with a brightly polished blade and the rawhide-covered wooden scabbard with the Model 1903 type II belt attachment.
According to the Rock Island Arsenal Museum, "J.N.S. identifies the leather goods inspector, John Nicholas Schmidt.
|16.00||406||20.625||524||.620||15.7||Ricasso: "RIA" over ordnance bomb over "1907" and "US" over "94061"
Scabbard: "R.I.A." over "1907" and "J.N.S." (unknown leather goods inspector at Rock Is. Arsenal)
|M1905 Scabbard Belt Protector||Leather belt protector to enable wearing the early (pre-1910) M1905 bayonet scabbard with the leather garrison belt.
This example was made at Rock Island Arsenal in 1907. It measures 4.625 in. (117 mm.) high by 1.875 in. (48 mm.) wide.
The “F.P.B.” marking identifies leather goods inspector, F.P. Baumbach, whom records indicate began employment at the Arsenal in 1899.
|Ross Mk. I||Knife bayonet for use on the Canadian Ross .303 caliber straight-pull rifle.
This is an early Mk. I example, with the extended muzzle ring and the pinned pommel. A flat spring was inserted inside the muzzle ring to remedy problems with the bayonet separating from the rifle. The groove for the spring is visible in one of the photos at left.
Both bayonet and scabbard have matching dates (1909) and bear the Canadian "broad arrow" acceptance marks showing that they were accepted for Canadian military service.
In 1917, the U.S. Government purchased 20,000 Ross rifles and bayonets from Canada. These were intended for use in troop training due to the shortage of rifles and bayonets during the First World War. They were marked with "U.S." and the Ordnance Dept. "flaming bomb" acceptance mark. This bayonet and scabbard were both accepted into U.S. Army service.
Many Ross bayonets had their blade profile drastically altered during WW I to provide a sharper point. However, this example is exactly as it left the Ross Rifle Co., Quebec, Canada factory in 1909.
According to the late Anthony Carter, replacement scabbards were made by the Hugh Carson Company Ltd. of Ottawa. This scabbard is missing its belt loop.
|10.125||257||14.625||351||.570||14.5||Pommel (Right): "Ross Rifle Co." over "Quebec" over "Patented 1907"
Pommel (Left): Canadian broad arrow proofmark and "08, a "crown8" inspector mark, and "10-09"
Backstrap: two "crown8" inspector marks
Grip (Right): "US" and ordnance bomb
Grip (Left): "crown8" inspector mark
Scabbard (Near Tip): "1909 RRC" and Canadian broad arrow proofmark
Scabbard (Body): "US" and ordnance bomb
Scabbard (Throat): Canadian broad arrow proofmark
|M1912 Fencing Bayonet||Used with non-firing training rifles for teaching U.S. Soldiers to
fight with the bayonet.
American use of fencing bayonets began in the 1850s with the Type I Fencing Bayonet and continued through the 1930s. The M1912 was the last fencing bayonet adopted by the U.S. military. Following outbreak of the Second World War, the U.S. Military began using the pugil stick for training soldiers in bayonet fencing techniques.
This example was manufactured at Rock Island Arsenal in 1914. The hilt has dual muzzle rings that secure to the rifle's barrel via two small screws (missing). The blade is made of flexible spring steel covered in russet-colored leather.
According to the Rock Island Arsenal Museum, the inspector identified by the initials “H.E.K.” was Henry E. Kelsey. He was born in Tennessee and appointed in Iowa. He reportedly began working at RIA in September of 1892 at the harness shop and was paid by piecework. He became an inspector in 1901 and was paid $3.00 a day. He inspected cartridge boxes, equipment cases, bayonet and knife scabbards, holsters, slings, and saddles.
The bayonet's length and profile simulate the M1905 bayonet. The non-firing rifle with which this bayonet was employed was an obsolete M1873 Springfield Rifle, with the barrel shortened and weighted to simulate the length and handling properties of the M1903 Springfield Rifle.
These non-firing training arms were often referred to as "Quaker Rifles." This name comes from the Religious Society of Friends or "Quakers", who hold a religious opposition to war and violence.
|16.00||406||19.00||483||.770||20.0||Ricasso: "R.I.A." over "1914." over "H.E.K."|
|M1891 Remington||Socket bayonet for use with the 7.62 mm. M1891 Mosin-Nagant rifle. This example was produced in the USA by the Remington Arms Co., in Bridgeport, Connecticut, for the Imperial Russian Government.
In 1915, Russia contracted with Remington and with the New England Westinghouse Co. to produce the 7.62 mm. M1891 Mosin-Nagant rifle and the accompanying bayonets. When the Communist Revolution of 1917 overthrew the government of Czar Nicholas II, the contract was cancelled, leaving Remington and N.E. Westinghouse holding a large quantity of M1891 rifles and bayonets; with factories tooled-up to produce Russian arms. The U.S. Government purchased all of the rifles and bayonets on hand, plus any more they could produce while thier factories were converted to produce Browning machine guns.
The tiny circle-R and serial number, and the absence of any Russian markings, identifies this example as having been produced by Remington. Some of the U.S.-purchase bayonets were marked with the Ordnance Dept. "Shell and Flame" device, however, many were not. As this example illustrates, the fit and finish of the Remington bayonet is better than on Russian-produced M1891 bayonets.
|17.00||432||19.75||502||.585||14.9||Socket: "571004" and circle "R"|
|Daisy #40||Socket bayonet for use with the Daisy #40 military style BB gun. The bayonet is made of stamped blued steel, with a functional locking ring and small rubber tip. No scabbard was produced.
The socket length is 1.375 in. (35 mm.).
Produced by the Daisy manufacturing Company Inc. of Plymouth, Michigan, approximately 150,000 #40 rifles and bayonets were made from 1916–1934.
The #40 is said to be one of the most sought after items by today’s collectors of Daisy BB guns. Examples of the bayonet are far less common than rifles, with many having been lost (or confiscated and disposed of by concerned parents).
|M1917||Sword bayonet for use on the .30–06 caliber U.S. Rifle Model of 1917. The M1917 rifle was nearly identical to the British Pattern 1913 rifle, so was often referred to as the Enfield. This bayonet was also used with U.S. Army combat shotguns (trench guns), serving into the 1980s.
The M1917 bayonet was identical to the British Pattern 1913 bayonet, except for the U.S. markings. The vertical grooves in the grip scales differentiated this bayonet from the British Pattern 1907 bayonet, to avoid confusion in British service.
This example was made in 1917 by the Remington Arms Co., Ilion, New York, USA.
The pommel, crosspiece, and ricasso are blued, remainder of the blade is parkerized. The leather scabbard is of the second pattern, where the M1910 belt hanger was integral with the locket. Early scabbards had a leather belt hanger riveted to the locket (see below). These did not hold up well in service and were discontinued. The scabbard body was painted green. British scabbards had a frog stud.
The "GF inside an oval identifies the maker of the metal scabbard mounts, the General Fireproofing Co. of Youngstown, Ohio (a peacetime producer of steel furniture). The initials "U.V.K." on the scabbard body are of an unknown U.S. government inspector.
|17.00||432||21.75||552||.605||15.4||Ricasso (Right): "US" and ordnance 'bomb'; eagle's head & "26"
Ricasso (Left): "Remington" inside a circle; "1917"
Scabbard: Locket and chape marked, "GF" in oval; leather marked "U.V.K."
|M1917 Maxim Scabbard (First Pattern)||First pattern scabbard for the M1917 bayonet, with a leather belt hanger riveted to the the locket in order to adapt the British-style scabbard to the U.S. M1910 equipment belt.
This scabbard was designed and patented by famed U.S. inventor Hiram Maxim, whose machine gun played such a large part in both World Wars. View copy of Maxim's scabbard patent.
The belt hanger proved too weak and a second pattern scabbard was designed, incorporating the wire belt hanger into the locket. An example of the later scabbard accompanies the M1917 bayonet above.
This example bears the U.S. government inspector mark "EJB", whose identity remains unknown.
|M1917 Maxim Scabbard Belt Hanger||This is an unused M1917 first pattern scabbard leather belt hanger.
This example was made by the Jewell Belting Co. of Hartford, CT, in 1918. The identity of inspector "H.E." is not known.
|n/a||n/a||n/a||"Jewell" over "1918" and "H.E."|
|M1917 C.T. Bolo||Heavy bolo knife for use by machine gun and artillery crews to clear vegetation when emplacing their guns.
This example was made by the Fayette R. Plumb Co., St. Louis, MO, in 1918.
The heavy blade is blued, with a false edge. Serrated wood grips with finger grooves. Scabbard is made of wood and rawhide, with a brass throat. The scabbard cover was made in 1918 by Brauer Bros., also of St. Louis. The cover is made of canvas and leather, incorporating the M1910 wire belt hanger.
According to noted U.S. military knife authority Frank Trzaska, the C.T. stands for "Commercial Tolerances." This signifies that the knife was made to less exacting commercial tolerances, rather than the more stringent tolerances used at Springfield Armory. On the C.T. design, the pommel and tang were made as one piece, rather than the pommel being brazed to the tang as was the case with the M1910 bolo made by Springfield Armory and M1917 bolos produced by other manufacturers.
|10.25||260||15.00||381||n/a||Ricasso (Left): "Plumb" over "St. Louis" over "1918"
Ricasso (Right): "U.S. MOD" over "1917 C. T."
Scabbard Cover: "Brauer Bros." in an arc over "1918" on leather tip and "M.A.S." on canvas belt hanger
|Collins No. 1005 Machete||These machetes were used by U.S. Army Engineers to supplement the bolo knives and bayonets, which were notoriously ineffective brush-cutting implements.
The manufacturer is the famous Collins & Company of Hartford, CT.
These machetes are often said to have been used in the Spanish-American War, but this is apparently not correct. According to U.S. military knife expert, Carter Rila, the Collins No. 1005 was adopted by the US Army in 1918, too late to see service in the First World War. It was obsolete by the time the U.S. entered the Second World War.
Extraordinarily heavy, roughly machined curved blade. Green horn grips held on by brass rivets. Tooled leather scabbard with brass locket and chape.
|15.00||381||20.00||508||n/a||Ricasso: "Collins & Co." in an arc over "Hartford"
Scabbard: Large cartouche with "Collins & Co. over a hand grasping a forging hammer over "Legitimus"
|Bayonet (Trench) Mirror||Trench mirror used by U.S. and British troops during The First World War. The mirror attaches to the M1905, Pattern 1907, or Pattern 1913 (U.S. M1917) bayonet and allows viewing over the parapet, without exposing the soldier to enemy fire. The mirror folds flat to fit in a shirt pocket, when not in use.
The mirror measures 3.75 in. (95 mm.) wide by 2.00 in. (51 mm.) high. The swiveling tab is 3.125 in. (80 mm.) long.
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