Bayonet

Sword bayonet. The hilt is steel with a 83mm long leather chequered grip and steel pommel. On the obverse is a steel spring, 64mm long, secured by a screw. On the reverse is a button or dog, being the release-catch of the spring to disengage the bayonet from the rifle barrel. The leading quillons are plain, ending in a turned-up knob and the trailing quillions are the same but incorporate a ring to take the rifle barrel. The back of the hilt is scooped to admit the underside of the barrel. The blade is curved forward for the first half of its length and then back for the remainder of the point. There is a false edge of approximately 152mm. A fuller 394mm long begins 19mm from the hilt and is hard against the back of the blade. On the obverse the guard is stamped '395' and the reverse is stamped 'A.D.?'. There is no scabbard.
This weapon is probably an example of the sword bayonet design originally for the 1855 Enfield rifle. It was later used with the Snider-Enfield of 1866 and then bushed to fit the 1873 Martini-Henry, being re-converted in 1891 for the Lee-Metford. This copy is not bushed. Generally speaking, it is probably of the type called the 'Snider bayonet'.

Object Details

ID: WPN1342
Collection: Weapons
Type: Bayonet
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Unknown
Date made: 1855
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Measurements: Blade: 578 x 29 mm
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