The M1917

bayonet A bayonet (from French ) 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.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...

was designed to be used with the US

M1917 Enfield The M1917 Enfield, the "American Enfield", formally named "United States Rifle, cal .30, Model of 1917" is an American modification and production of the .303-inch (7.7 mm) Pattern 1914 Enfield (P14) rifle (listed in British Service as Rifle No. ...

.30

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...

rifle, as well as with the seven different U.S. trench shotguns. The blade was long. It will not fit the M1903 .30 caliber (Springfield) or the M1 .30 caliber (Garand) US service rifles as they have different bayonet ring (barrel) and attachment stud dimensions.

History

The M1917 bayonet was used first during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

by American soldiers on the Western Front. A

sword bayonet A sword bayonet is any long, knife-bladed bayonet designed for mounting on a musket or rifle. Its use is thought to have begun in the 18th century and to have reached its height of popularity throughout the 19th and into the early 20th centuries. W ...

design, the M1917 bayonet design was based on the British Pattern 1913 bayonet, itself derived from the

Pattern 1907 bayonet 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 f ...

, which incorporated a long 17-inch blade. While designed primarily for the

M1917 rifle The M1917 Enfield, the "American Enfield", formally named "United States Rifle, cal .30, Model of 1917" is an American modification and production of the .303-inch (7.7 mm) Pattern 1914 Enfield (P14) rifle (listed in British Service as Rifle No. ...

, the bayonet was fitted for use on all the "trench" shotguns at the time. The M1917 bayonet, being a direct copy of the British P14 bayonet, retained the transverse cuts in the grip panels. These panels served to differentiate the P1914 bayonet from the P1907 bayonet in British service as the only difference between the two was the height of the muzzle ring. in US service these transverse cuts served no official purpose. US surcharged P1914 bayonets exist and will exhibit the British proofs being cancelled out and US marks applied. The M1917 was used frequently during the several different Banana Wars. The U.S. continued to use the World War I-made M1917 bayonets during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

because of large stockpiles left over. The new Trench Guns being procured and issued were still designed to use the old M1917 bayonet. The bayonet was again called on during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

for issue with the various Trench guns still in service. In a strange twist of fate, in 1966 procurement orders were let for brand new production M1917 bayonets. The contracts were issued to General Cutlery of Fremont, Ohio and Canadian Arsenals Ltd., the old Long Branch Arsenal of Quebec, Canada. Stockpiles had finally run out, and new Winchester 1200 trench shotguns were being issued. These were used in limited quantities during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. It was not until towards the end of the Vietnam war that new Military shotguns were designed to use the newer knife bayonets. Such as the

Stevens Model 77E The Stevens Model 77E was a pump-action shotgun offered in 12 gauge, 16 gauge, 20 gauge, 28 gauge, and 410 gauge. The military version 77E was the most widely used shotgun of the Vietnam War. It was a short-barreled pump-action shotgun known var ...

with the M5 Bayonet, or the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

"Model 870 Mark 1" shotgun with the M7 bayonet. M1917 bayonets were still in used by the US Army as late as the early 2000s for use with the

M1200 shotgun M1, M01 or M-1 may refer to: Arts, entertainment & media * WD-M01 Turn A Gundam, a mecha from the anime ''Turn A Gundam'' * M-1 (rapper), one half of hip hop duo Dead Prez * Korg M1, a keyboard synthesizer * Leica M1, a 1959 35 mm camera mo ...

Weapons the M1917 Bayonet was used with

* P14 rifle * Winchester Model 1897 trench gun *

Winchester Model 1912 The Winchester Model 1912 (also commonly known as the Model 12, or M12) is an internal-hammer pump-action shotgun with an external tube magazine. Popularly named the ''Perfect Repeater'' at its introduction, it largely set the standard for pump-a ...

trench gun * Stevens Model 520-30 trench gun * Stevens Model 620 trench gun * Remington Model 10 trench gun *

Ithaca Model 37 The Ithaca 37 (or Model 37) is a pump-action shotgun made in large numbers for the civilian, law enforcement and military markets. Based on a 1915 patent by firearms designer John Browning for a shotgun initially marketed as the Remington Model 1 ...

trench gun *

Winchester Model 1200 The Model 1200 and Model 1300 are two pump-action shotguns that were manufactured by the Winchester-Western Division of Olin Corporation. It was produced in 12-, 16- and 20-gauge. The military version of the 1200 has the ability to have a bay ...

trench gun

External links

U.S. M1917 Bayonet
* {{DEFAULTSORT:M1917 Bayonet Bayonets of the United States World War I infantry weapons of the United States World War II infantry weapons of the United States

History

Weapons the M1917 Bayonet was used with

See also

External links