Original Item: Only One Available. This is a nice U.S. M1905 bayonet manufactured by Rock Island Arsenal, dated 1919, originally made during the WWI period for the M1903 Springfield Rifle, which was then reissued in WWII for the M1 Garand Rifle. It is fitted with a WWII Issue M3 scabbard. The Garand was designed to take the same blade bayonet as the M1903 Springfield rifle, so at the beginning of the war they were issued with bayonets originally made for those rifles.

In 1943, the specification for bayonets was changed to have a 10 inch blade, and many M1905 bayonets were shortened to this length. This bayonet however is still in the original configuration, which is rare to find on the market today.

The blade ricasso is marked with R.I.A. for manufacture by Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois, one of the largest U.S. Government weapons manufacturers. Below this is the Ordnance flaming bomb and date of manufacture 1919. The other side of the ricasso is marked with U.S. above serial number 429312. The blade is in great shape with a nice edge, and in many places the original factory grinding marks can still be seen. The blade retains much of the bluing from when the bayonet was reissued for use during the WWII era. Both the hilt and the blade have little or no surface rust and oxidation present.

The original M3 scabbard on this example is a rare example, produced by Detroit Gasket & Manufacturing Company of Detroit, Michigan. Their contract, number 374ORD 1293 was for $251,000 and called for deliveries to be made from January 1942 to June 1943. The body of the scabbard was made of different materials than Beckwith MFG Co used, consisting of cotton tubing impregnated with a phenol-formaldehyde thermosetting resin. Scabbards made of this material have a much finer weave in the body material, and the resin is a dark brown. These were marked with a sideways "Lazy S" under the "flaming bomb" on the throat.

The scabbard bodies proved to be brittle in service, and it was recommended that a change in the type of plastic be made. Also, it proved almost impossible to find a paint that would adhere properly to the body, and most of those found today will have much of the paint missing, just like this example. The throat still has all of the original finish, making this a very nice example of a rare scabbard.

This bayonet is in fantastic condition, an unaltered 16” WWI M1905 Springfield rifle bayonet by RIA, reissued for use in WWII and complete with a rare M3 Scabbard variant. Ready to display or fit on your Garand or Springfield Rifle.

Specifications:
Blade Length: 16"
Blade Style: Single Edged with Fuller
Overall length: 20 1/2“
Crossguard: 3 1/2”
Scabbard Length: 17"

A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon. From the 17th century to World War I, it was considered a primary weapon for infantry attacks. Today, it is considered an ancillary weapon or a weapon of last resort.
The popular image of World War I combat is of a wave of soldiers with bayonets fixed, "going over the top" and charging across no man's land into a hail of enemy fire. Although this was the standard method of fighting early in the war, it was rarely successful. British casualties on the first day of the Battle of the Somme were the worst in the history of the British army, with 57,470 British casualties, 19,240 of whom were killed.

During World War I, no man's land was often hundreds of yards across. The area was usually devastated by the warfare and riddled with craters from artillery and mortar shells, and sometimes contaminated by chemical weapons. Heavily defended by machine guns, mortars, artillery and riflemen on both sides, it was often covered with barbed wire and land mines, and littered with the rotting corpses of those who were not able to make it across the sea of bullets, explosions and flames. A bayonet charge through no man's land often resulted in the total annihilation of entire battalions.