Pattern 1907 bayonet

Sword bayonet, Pattern 1907
Pattern 1907 bayonet with scabbard.
Type	Bayonet
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	20th century
Used by	British Commonwealth
Wars	World War I World War II
Production history
Designed	1906–1907
Manufacturer	James A. Chapman, Robert Mole & Sons, Sanderson Bros & Newbould Ltd, Vickers Ltd and Wilkinson Sword
Produced	1908–1945
No. built	More than 5,000,000
Specifications
Mass	16+1⁄2 oz (470 g)
Length	21+3⁄4 in (550 mm)
Blade length	17 in (430 mm)
References	Australian War Memorial and Ballard & Bennett

The Pattern 1907 bayonet, officially called the Sword bayonet, pattern 1907 (Mark I), was a British bayonet designed to be used with the Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE) rifle. The Pattern 1907 bayonet was used by the British and Commonwealth forces throughout both the First and Second World Wars.

Design

The Pattern 1907 bayonet consisted of a one-piece steel blade and tang, with a crossguard and pommel made from wrought iron or mild steel, and a wooden grip usually of walnut secured to the tang by two screws. The entire bayonet was 21+3⁄4 inches (550 mm) long and weighed 16+1⁄2 ounces (470 g), although the weight of production models varied from 16 to 18 ounces (450 to 510 g). Originally the bayonet featured a hooked lower quillion, intended to be used to trap and snap enemy bayonets when grappling, this was later deemed impractical and replaced with a simpler design from 1913, often unit armourers subsequently removed the hooked quillion when the bayonet went for repair, although there is no evidence that this was officially directed.

The Pattern 1907 bayonet's blade was 17 inches (430 mm) long, it had a shallow fuller that was machined into both sides of the blade to save weight and add strength, the fuller was 12 inches (300 mm) long that extended to within 3 inches (76 mm) of the tip.

Original hooked quillion of the Pattern 1907 bayonet.

The Pattern 1907 bayonet was supplied with a simple leather scabbard flitted with a steel top-mount and chape, it was usually carried from the belt by a simple frog. The Pattern 1907 bayonet attached to the SMLE by a boss located below the barrel on the nose of the rifle and a mortise groove on the pommel of the bayonet.

The combined length of the SMLE and Pattern 1907 bayonet was 5 feet 2 inches (1.57 m).

Markings

Pattern 1907 bayonet fitted to SMLE rifle.

Official marks were stamped onto the Pattern 1907 bayonet's ricasso. On British manufactured bayonets the right side included an 'X' bend-test mark, a broad arrow government acceptance mark, and one or more Royal Small Arms Factory appointed inspector's marks, on the left side was the date of the bayonet's official inspection and the maker's name and the reigning monarch's crown and royal cypher, 'ER' (Edward Rex) and after 1910 'GR' (George Rex).

Indian bayonets were marked similarly to British bayonets except the royal cypher read 'GRI' (George Rex Imperator) and the manufacturer's mark was 'R.F.I.' (Rifle Factory Ishapore). Australian bayonets differed in the manufacturer's marks, with 'Lithgow' (Lithgow Small Arms Factory), 'MA' (Mangrovite Arsenal) and 'OA' (Orange Arsenal). The wooden grips of World War II era Australian bayonets were often marked 'SLAZ' for Slazenger, who made the grips during that war.

History

When the British military adopted the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield rifle, its barrel was shortened to 25.2 inches (640 mm), 5 inches (130 mm) shorter than the preceding Magazine Lee-Enfield. British military strategists were fearful that the British infantry would be at a disadvantage when engaged in a bayonet duel with enemy soldiers who retained a longer reach. Bayonet fighting drills formed a significant part of a contemporary British infantryman’s training. Soldiers were drilled in various stances and parrying techniques against an enemy also armed with rifle and bayonet. The combined length of the SMLE and the in-service Pattern 1903 bayonet and its 12-inch (300 mm) blade was 4 feet 9 inches (1.45 m), shorter than the contemporary French Lebel Model 1886 and bayonet at 6 feet (1.8 m) and the German Mauser 1898 at 5 feet 10 inches (1.77 m) and bayonet.

Japanese Ariska, Type 30 bayonet.

In 1906–7 the British Army conducted trials to find a new longer standard issue bayonet. Experiments were conducted with a number of foreign bayonet designs, including a modified version of the American Model 1905 bayonet and the Japanese Type 30 bayonet. The trials resulted in the British Army adopting its own version of the Type 30 bayonet. The new design was designated Sword bayonet, pattern 1907 (Mark I) and was officially introduced on 30 January 1908.

Approximately 5,000,000 Pattern 1907 bayonets were made in Britain during World War I. The makers were Wilkinson Sword, Sanderson Brothers & Newbould Ltd, James A. Chapman, Robert Mole & Sons and Vickers Ltd. Additionally, Remington UMC produced approximately 100,000 during the war. The Pattern 1907 bayonet was manufactured in India from 1911 to 1940 at the Rifle Factory Ishapore and in Australia from 1913 to 1927, and then again between 1940 and 1945 at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory.

The Pattern 1907 bayonet was adopted by most of the British Commonwealth along with the SMLE. It saw broad front line service until 1945, seeing service in both World War I and World War II. It remained in Australian and Indian service for some time after 1945.

In 1926 the 1907 bayonet was reclassified as the 'Bayonet, No.1, Mk.1'

Variants

Pattern 1913 bayonet

The Pattern 1913 bayonet was designed to be used with the experimental Pattern 1913 Enfield. The Pattern 1913 bayonet's only functional difference from the Pattern 1907 bayonet was the cross guard for the muzzle ring is longer, to fit the Pattern 1913 Enfield rifle. Upon the outbreak of World War I the British authorities adapted the Pattern 1913 Enfield to the .303 British cartridge, creating the Pattern 1914 Enfield rifle, and contracts were awarded to the United States arms manufacturers Winchester, Remington and Eddystone for the rifle's production. To accompany those rifles, Remington manufactured the 1,243,000 Pattern 1913 bayonets and Winchester produced 225,000.

The Pattern 1917 bayonet cannot be fixed to the Lee-Enfield rifle (because of the different muzzle ring heights), so to avoid confusion with the Pattern 1907 bayonet, two deep vertical grooves were cut into the wooden grips of the Pattern 1913 bayonet.

Model 1917 bayonet

Main article: M1917 bayonet

Upon their entry into World War I, the United States military adapted the Pattern 1914 Enfield rifle to the .30-06 Springfield cartridge to make up for shortfalls in production of the Model 1903 Springfield rifles, creating the substitute standard Model 1917 Enfield rifle. To accompany the M1917 rifle, the United States simply adopted the Pattern 1913 bayonet as the Model 1917 bayonet. Over 2,000,000 Model 1917 bayonets were manufactured in the United States during the war, including 545,000 Pattern 1913 bayonets manufactured for but not delivered to the British military, that were simply re-stamped as Model 1917 bayonets. The Model 1917 bayonet was adopted unchanged to be used with United States Army combat shotguns, after the war, the M1917 bayonet was retained for use with combat shotguns, it remained in United States service until the 1980s.

India Pattern bayonets

From 1941, India began cutting down Pattern 1907 bayonets to 12.2 in (310 mm) and grinding a point into the remaining blade, creating the India Pattern No. 1 Mk. I*, the India Pattern No. 1 Mk. I** is almost identical except a false blade 2 in (51 mm) long is ground into the top of the blade, both were recognisable as the fuller than now ran the length of the blade. The India Pattern No. 1 Mk. II and the India Pattern No. 1 Mk. II* were newly manufactured versions with 12.2 inch blades that had no fuller, the latter having a false blade on top side, both retained the Pattern 1907 hilt and grip. The India Pattern No. 1 Mk. III and the India Pattern No. 1 Mk. III* were similar to the No. 1 Mk. II and No. 1 Mk. II* except they had crude squared pommels, rectangular grips and were finished with black paint.

See also

• Sword bayonet