jscott Posted 23 December , 2011 Share Posted 23 December , 2011 Hi all I recently acquired a German s71 bayonet and I am having all sorts of trouble identifying the regimental markings on it. No sooner have I become reasonably comfortable with the various British/ Commonwealth markings than this comes along and throws a spanner in the works! The markings on the bayonet and scabbard do not match, with the bayonet being marked 39.R.10.199 and the scabbard marked 24.RE.2.9. The first appears to be the Fusilier Regiment Nr.39 (originally in the 14th Reserve Div and in March 1915 moving to the 50th Inf Div), and my best guess for the latter is the Brandenburgisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 24 (6th Reserve Div)... (although I must admit that this is based solely on google searches). From my initial research it also appears that both of these regiments fought in the opening battles of WW1 on the Western Front, when I understand the s71 was still used by some regiments. Does this sound like a reasonable analysis or am I way off? Are there any books/ web sites that are handy in interpreting these German regimental markings? Many thanks and merry Christmas to all, J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
militariaone Posted 23 December , 2011 Share Posted 23 December , 2011 Greetings J, for a decent book try here http://home.earthlink.net/~nopubl/ and a very Merry Christmas to you as well. Regards, Lance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 23 December , 2011 Share Posted 23 December , 2011 Hi Jonathan, glad to hear you picked up a S71 - they are such a nice bayonet, and you are on the right track with the regimental markings. The main thing to keep in mind is the style of the lettering as this can make quite a difference to the identification (ie. is it R or an R etc) The plain block letter R indicates a standard infanterie regiment while the script letter R means it is a Reserve infanterie regiment. So the 39th Regiment 'proper' should be the Niederrheinisches Füsilier-Regt. Nr.39 (Düsseldorf) VII Armee Korps, as you have indicated. The 24th is Großherzog Friedrich Franz II von Mecklenburg-Schwerin (4.Brandenburgisches) Infanterie-Regt.Nr.24 (Neu-Ruppin) III Armee Korps. The E in the lettering is the coding for the Ersatz Battalion of the certain infanterie regiment that was noted (so the training or replacement unit) Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscott Posted 23 December , 2011 Author Share Posted 23 December , 2011 Thanks S/S - that all sounds spot on. The style of the lettering appears to be standard (not italic) - perhaps the fact that both regiments were in the same place in late 1914 accounts for the mismatched bayonet/ scabbard? I totally agree about the s71 as well - such an impressive looking bayonet, much more aesthetically pleasing than most of the wartime issue bayonets. Lance - thanks for the book recommendation - I will try to pick up a copy in the new year and add it to my growing library! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 23 December , 2011 Share Posted 23 December , 2011 And seeing as you are yet to become 'photo-post literate' I guess I shall have to illustrate this thread with one from my collection ... And don't bother to thank me, these are one of my favourite bayonets, and I don't mind showing them off.! (Actually I have a lot of favourites.) Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscott Posted 24 December , 2011 Author Share Posted 24 December , 2011 Very nice - I was very impressed with the quality of the s71 when it arrived. Everything seemed very well made - the catch still works perfectly and even the fraktur stamps were larger and more defined. As for the photos I will work out how to upload them and will put up some photos of my recent acquisitions (there are a few in particular that I think you will find quite interesting!) Im heading away for the christmas break but will get onto this when Im back. Also - how did your storage solution work out? My collection has expanded quite quickly from a year ago and I need to decide on a way to store them all! I am currently thinking of getting a small plan chest... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
militariaone Posted 24 December , 2011 Share Posted 24 December , 2011 Greetings Jonathan saw these in person http://jnsmilitaryantiques.com/the_worthington.htm at a Stateside Gun Show a few weeks ago. While I did not ask prices, I was impressed with their quality of manufacture. Specifically, the designs are for collections' storage and I thought you might find the ideas they provide interesting to view for generating some of your own. Either case, they are pretty to look at:-) Regards, Lance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 24 December , 2011 Share Posted 24 December , 2011 Wow Lance they sure are some nice looking cabinets.! Mine are nothing near that decorative, just industrial tool cabinets, but the same basic idea. Only trouble is mine are FULL, so now am going to have to either replicate or come up with some other ideas. Here is a few that I've tried recently. For a very small collection I can suggest a padded gun case as a temporary measure, I use these when I'm travelling and some are very well priced. Another left-field idea is milsurp artillery cases from disposal stores. These are steel and sealable to prevent moisture damage, some are quite long. I partition these cases with some light plywood, to make up 'cells' to allow the bayonets to be slid into lengthwise. I find these great for long term storage. My special favourites are kept in a glass topped coffee table in our living room, so they are on permanent display. Unfortunately you can't display everything. These are just a few ideas, but really the main thing is "'where there's a will there's a way"(very important to remember when negotiating with the spouse.!) Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 24 December , 2011 Share Posted 24 December , 2011 Wow Lance they sure are some nice looking cabinets.! Lance, I would certainly second S>S on that! In fact I had been thinking of having a cabinet made along those lines (Turkey is still relatively cheap from that point of view!). My display bayonets are hanging from their frogs (real or reproduction) on short rails (Ikea!) attached to the hall walls, out of reach of the nippers, while my non-display ones sit in plastic boxes at the moment, which I know is not an ideal situation, which is why I want a cabinet made. Mind you, one thing I learnt from my museum experience many years ago was the need to choose the wood carefully: some woods - and pine in particular, if I remember rightly - are quite unsuitable because of their acidity. These are just a few ideas, but really the main thing is "'where there's a will there's a way"(very important to remember when negotiating with the spouse.!) Cheers, S>S Too true! Actually 'er indoors was rather keen on this idea of yours, the best bayonets in a glass-topped coffee table display...!!! Will you send a photo? However, as I have such a small collection, I would like to have them all hanging from frogs suspended on rails over my 'study' area... Trajan PS: Best wishes to all of you bayonet-lovers, wherever you are, as we start the countdown over here to 'Noel Günü', the Turkish recognition that there is a Xmas Day! Alas, I will have to work part of the day (I have a 3-hour graduate seminar on Monday), but an elf has whispered in my ear that a copy of Carter's 98/05 will appear under the Xmas tree...!!! And so I will celebrate that by lifting a glass of something suitably alcoholic to all of you in the bayonet world! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patje70 Posted 27 December , 2011 Share Posted 27 December , 2011 @Shippingsteel ,do you also have a scabbard for your bajonet? My bajonets are kept in a small closet with four drawers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 27 December , 2011 Share Posted 27 December , 2011 Unfortunately this particular bayonet is missing its scabbard, but I'm OK about that. Personally I feel if the bayonet is right I'm happy to buy it without a scabbard. The 19th century leather scabbards are always going to be a problem to find, so I don't get too worked up about it - but if you happen to have one for sale .... Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscott Posted 9 January , 2012 Author Share Posted 9 January , 2012 Finally, some pics of my s71 (although the metal looks brighter than it really is for some reason): and another... and one more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ph0ebus Posted 10 January , 2012 Share Posted 10 January , 2012 That is a beaut! Thanks for sharing. Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscott Posted 10 January , 2012 Author Share Posted 10 January , 2012 Thanks Daniel. Unfortunately the scabbard is missing its throat (and I think the leather has probably shrunk a little as well), but otherwise it is in nice condition. The more I collect, the more I focus on regimental markings - so its nice that this one has two sets! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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