The past two world wars gave the concept and experience in the manufacture and development of not only combat knives, but also bayonets for firearms.
This experience allowed us to develop the optimal knife size for trench or trench combat. The so-called scout knives began to be coated with an anti-reflective coating, making their surface matte or completely black.
Let's try to describe the features of some samples of German bayonet knives.
German bayonet (second type, saw on the butt)
Bayonet-knife German standard 1884-1898 used with Mauser design rifles. Initially, these types were exported to South America. But with the beginning of World War I, such bayonets began to be used in parts of the German army.
The options for execution were slightly different among themselves:
- the shape of the blade;
- the presence of a saw on the bayonet butt.
Bayonet Length:
- 445mm, total;
- 315 mm, the length of the blade itself;
- 26 mm, blade width;
- on a blade butt there is a saw with 25 double teeth.
Price: 30 000 r.
Police bayonet of the 1920s-1940s
Wehrmacht police bayonet-knives were made by modifying the bayonets of the times of the Weimar Republic. There are two main versions of the manufacture of bayonets:
- with workers in operation systems adjoining rifles.
- decorative adjacency systems.
Due to the fact that a large number of private companies took part in the manufacture of the bayonet-knife, there are many copies that vary in decoration and small details.
On the scabbard and handle was stamped unit SD (Nazi secret security service).
Price: 24 000 rub.
Gottshaw Bayonets
The bayonet-knives of the First World War of this model were developed by Dr. L. Gottscho and secured by a patent dated 11/14/1914. Bayonets of this design were delivered to the army of Bavaria and Württemberg.
Historical background suggests that the number of bayonets "from Gottsho" reaches 27,000 pieces.
The Bavarian state arsenal strongly opposed the widespread adoption of this design. The main argument against arming the army with such bayonet-knives were:
- lack of experience in the manufacture of bayonet weapons;
- poor workmanship.
The options for marking bayonets are different due to the fact that there were many manufacturing companies for the manufacture of spare parts. Because of this, you can find many differences on the Gottshaw bayonets. There are also options in which the German bayonet-knife was with a saw on the blade butt.
Bayonet Length:
- 500 mm, total;
- 365-370 mm, the length of the blade itself;
- 22 mm, blade width;
- on the blade butt there is a saw with 28 double teeth.
Price: 60 000 rub.
Trench bayonet knives of the First World War
From the name it can be seen that such bayonet-knives were used in fleeting fights in cramped conditions - trenches or trenches.
In the trenches, instead of long, adjacent structures, short bayonets were used with success, which supplied the "technical units (telegraphists, bicycle parts, reservists).
During World War I, the German bayonet-knife replaced the long-blade weapon. I must say that there has been a change in fashion trends in uniform. The decoration for the uniform in the form of a knife, a dagger or a short bayonet became "fashionable" attributes of a military uniform.
For this reason, compared to other armies, trench knives became very widespread in the German army.
About 27 different designs of short bayonet-knives of the period of the First World War are known, which were officially adopted by parts of the German army and had the stamp of state acceptance.
I would like to mention the ersatz-bayonet model, which has the function of adjoining the rifle (adjoining daggers).
Such an unusual shape of the handle was performed due to the desire to simplify the abutment of short bayonets to firearms. But this form of the handle of this knife did not affect either the working or combat qualities. The German bayonet-knife fits well in the palm of the hand and performs the “piercing” function perfectly.
Bayonet Length:
- 265 mm, total;
- 150 mm, the length of the blade itself;
- 22 mm, blade width.
Price: 18 500 rub.
Erzatz bayonets of the First World War
A short time after the First World War began, by the end of 1914 the command drew attention to the dangerously fast reduction of not only rifles, but also bayonets to them. In this regard, it was decided to stamp the German bayonet-knife according to simplified technology, according to which the hilt and handle were made of steel. Such models with brass hinges were used by the police. As a rule, such blades had no dol, which, in turn, made it possible to simplify and reduce the cost of their production.
The blades of such bayonets were straight, single-blade (but the end of the blade was two-blade).
The handle is metal, hollow. The handle with the shank is fastened with two polished rivets. It provides a round hole on the side surface next to the cross. At the head of the handle there is a T-shaped groove and a spring latch. Metal sheath.
Some samples were produced under the Russian rifle of the Mosin system of the 1891 standard.
Price: 18 000 rub.
Short bayonet KS 98
The figure below shows a German bayonet-knife from the Second World War, a short KS 98 (with a sword belt) for Mauser rifles, dated 1933-1944.
Bayonet knives of this type were adopted in 1901 for machine gun parts. They began to enter the army in 1902. In 1908 they received the designation "short bayonet."
Since the First World War, they have been used by machine gun companies, as well as in aviation and automobile divisions. Until 1917, they were produced with a saw on the butt of a bayonet-knife. The pads on the handle were produced in different versions: corrugated from leather, or ebonite, or smooth wooden (appeared on knives at the end of 1913).
German bayonet-knife 1941-1945 had circulation and as an attribute of the ceremonial form. There are modifications that differ among themselves by the length of the blade itself, the number of rivets on the handle.
Bayonet Length:
- 317 mm, total;
- 197 mm, the length of the blade itself;
- 23 mm, blade width.
Price: 37 000 rub.