Discussions about the need for bayonets have long ceased to be relevant in our era of the widespread use of automatic weapons. But back in the 19th century and even at the beginning of the 20th century, many copies were broken on this issue. Even the appearance of magazine rifles did not immediately send the bayonet to the scrap. And the biggest debate arose over the type of bayonet. Should it be a saber type, like, for example, the Prussians, or is it more relevant only the pricking version, like the tetrahedral bayonet of the Mosin rifle.
History of creation
Russian faceted bayonets have a rich history. The first needle bayonet was used on the Berdank. At first it was trihedral, and in 1870 a more durable tetrahedral needle bayonet was designed. A slightly modified version of this bayonet also hit the legendary Mosin rifle, which became the main Russian weapon of both world wars. The bayonet was firing along with a rifle and it was not required to remove it during firing.
It should be noted that it was mounted to the right of the barrel, since in this position it had the least impact on the shooting path. The tetrahedral bayonet was used in various versions of the Mosin rifle of the sample of 1891 - in the infantry, Cossack, dragoon.
Design
The standard design was a bayonet mount using a clamp and tube in the shape of the letter "G", which was thickened at the rear end.
But produced more complex, and therefore expensive options with a spring latch, which pursued the goal of quick removal and putting on a bayonet.
The tetrahedral blade had dales in all faces. The total length is 500 mm, of which the blade length is 430 mm. The width of the blade is 17.7 mm, and the inner diameter of the tube is 15 mm.
Advantages
The tetrahedral bayonet knife has traditionally been condemned by Europeans for "inhumanity." The needle blade penetrated significantly deeper than the wide saber bayonets of European rifles. In addition, wounds inflicted by faceted weapons practically do not close, because they have a rounded, not wide, but flat section. Therefore, a wounded Russian tetrahedral bayonet was much more likely to bleed. However, in the era of the spread of mines and chemical weapons, any claims to edged weapons about inhumanity seem meaningless.
The Russian bayonet was technologically advanced in production, lightweight and cheap relative to European counterparts. Due to its light weight, it created less interference when shooting and allowed it to work faster with a rifle in a bayonet battle itself. Under the conditions of a classic bayonet attack of a unit into a unit, a faceted bayonet looked preferable to a saber bayonet.
disadvantages
In combat combat, the needle bayonet wins, however, in the case of a one-on-one duel, when two fighters maneuver and try to fencing, the saber bayonet, which allows for sweeping chopping strikes, had the advantage.
The main disadvantage of the Russian bayonet is the lack of the ability to fold it, not separating from the weapon, or at least the ability to quickly remove and put it on. This was especially evident during the trench confrontations of the First World War. There is little space in the trench, and the bayonet constantly clings to something. There were often cases when it broke.
The second disadvantage is the small applicability of the tetrahedral bayonet outside hand-to-hand combat. A knife-shaped and saber-shaped bayonets always retain the applied function.
Development
By the beginning of the twentieth century, bayonets were rarely used. Therefore, in the advanced European armies, they increasingly began to pay attention to the convenience of bayonets, focusing on shooting and preferring to produce light and short quick-detachable models that minimally interfere with the shooter. And the countries of the Triple Alliance were the first to produce cheap “ersatz bayonets” from low-quality steel, which, however, fully justified themselves under the prevalence of small-scale and not hand-to-hand combat.
The Russian command stubbornly held on to the high piercing qualities of the faceted bayonet in hand-to-hand combat, although the shooting suffered from this. It was only in 1916 that a new bayonet was created, which made it possible to make chopping strikes, more effective in conditions of trench warfare. Also, this model was simpler and cheaper to manufacture.
IN THE USSR
However, after the revolution, the leadership of the Red Army left the old tetrahedral bayonet of the 1891 type in service, despite a number of attempts to switch to blade bayonet-knives.
In 1930, a modified version of the weapon was created, intended for the modernized Mosin rifle of the 1930 model. The most interesting modification of the old Russian bayonet was the hinged bayonet for the Mosin carbine, adopted for service in 1943. This bayonet was shorter than the standard and had a protrusion on the base, which tightly fixed the weapon in a fighting position. Later, a second protrusion was added, which fixed the bayonet in the stowed position. It was fixed with a spring latch-sleeve, which was put on the barrel in a combat position, and moved forward while marching, allowing the bayonet to be thrown back to the forearm.
The Russian needle bayonet left a very noticeable mark in the history of wars, ending the era of the famous bayonet attacks of the Russian infantry, which it was famous for since the time of Suvorov. And although the legendary weapon left the scene a little later than it should, it still left a significant mark in the history of military affairs. In its direct mission - combat combat, there were no equal to the Russian tetrahedral bayonet.