jscott Posted 10 January , 2012 Share Posted 10 January , 2012 Hi all I started collecting WW1 bayonets a year and a half ago and I thought I would post a few pictures of the German bayonets I have acquired in that time. Many thanks to all the people on this site who gave me advice - I'm sure you will spot some of the bayonets that I have asked questions about on the forum in the following thread. Firstly (and just to keep things in chronological order) I thought I would attach a shot of my recently acquired Prussian s71 (Erfurt, 1881) regimentally marked to Fusilier Regiment 39 and the 24th Reserve Infantry Regiment, both of which I believe were active in 1914. and a closer shot of the markings: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscott Posted 10 January , 2012 Author Share Posted 10 January , 2012 Next up a pair of 1898s, the first a regimentally marked Prussian 1898 dated 1906 and manufactured by Erfurt, and the second a Saxon 1898 dated 1905 and manufactured by Simpson & Co of Suhl. If anyone has any ideas about how the bayonet and scabbard ended up together based on the regimental markings I'd be most pleased to hear them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscott Posted 10 January , 2012 Author Share Posted 10 January , 2012 Next in line are a few 1898/05 bayonets, an aA dated 1915, a nA dated 1916 (and marked to the eisenbahn betriebs-kompagnie), and a nA S dated 1916 with what appears to be an ersatz frog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscott Posted 11 January , 2012 Author Share Posted 11 January , 2012 Then a Prussian s84/98 manufactured by JA Henckels, a s14 manufactured by Samsonwerk and an Austrian 1895. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscott Posted 11 January , 2012 Author Share Posted 11 January , 2012 And finally my recently acquired Ersatz (EB45?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 11 January , 2012 Share Posted 11 January , 2012 You're putting together a very nice collection - outstanding work, so well done.! And I'm pleased you've now got your photo posting skills up and running. Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 11 January , 2012 Share Posted 11 January , 2012 Slaver, slaver, slaver, drool, drool, drool... Trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 26TH Yankee Posted 10 February , 2012 Share Posted 10 February , 2012 Very nice collection indeed! Thank you for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 10 February , 2012 Share Posted 10 February , 2012 And finally my recently acquired Ersatz (EB45?) Just had a chance to re-look at this one (didn't have time to study it properly before). It's not an EB45 , as the fullers on the EB 45 have squared-off ends. It's probably an EB 44, if the fullers are in the 184 mm length range, or an EB 43, if the fullers are nearer 210 mm., but the ends of the fullers look more like an EB 44 than an EB 43. Trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscott Posted 10 February , 2012 Author Share Posted 10 February , 2012 Thanks Trajan - I get the measuring tape out tonight and let you know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Tom Posted 10 February , 2012 Share Posted 10 February , 2012 Many thanks. There seems to be more in bayonets than I ever thought. If I may a question about the Prussian 71 (the first on the display). It has two hooks, one each way, decoration or some not obvious function? and how was it fixed? Old Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 11 February , 2012 Share Posted 11 February , 2012 Many thanks. There seems to be more in bayonets than I ever thought. If I may a question about the Prussian 71 (the first on the display). It has two hooks, one each way, decoration or some not obvious function? and how was it fixed? The design of the M1871 sword bayonet dates back to about circa 1860 and incorporates both decorative and functional additions to the crossguard. The top curved section includes the muzzle ring for attaching to the rifle barrel while the bottom recurved quillon provides protection as a handguard. The earlier bayonets from this era had a twofold purpose in that they could be utilised both as a short sword and as a bayonet when attached to the rifle. Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscott Posted 11 February , 2012 Author Share Posted 11 February , 2012 Just had a chance to re-look at this one (didn't have time to study it properly before). It's not an EB45 , as the fullers on the EB 45 have squared-off ends. It's probably an EB 44, if the fullers are in the 184 mm length range, or an EB 43, if the fullers are nearer 210 mm., but the ends of the fullers look more like an EB 44 than an EB 43. Trajan Righto. Thanks for pointing that out Trajan! Now I'm really confused. I've taken a measuring tape to the bayonet (first time ever by the way!) and it appears to be a hybrid of the two (EB43 & EB44). As you say it is definitely not a 45 as its around 50mm longer, and the blade is slightly flared. Measurements of my bayonet are as follows (compared with measurements from Carter): overall length: 475mm (43 is 472mm, 44 is 479mm); blade length: 357mm (43 is 353mm, 44 is 360); fuller: 235mm (43 is 210mm, 44 is 184mm) - this one is really out there?!; blade width: this bayonet, 43 and 44 all 26-30mm flaring like a 1898/05 (but not as dramatically). Only mark on my bayonet is a fraktur on the spine. The bayonet is in nice condition but the hilt is covered in nicks and bumps - clearly been used to hammer in tent pegs or similar... Scabbard is the sheet metal pressed to look like leather variety, and still has about 70 per cent of the original black paint. So is it a weird hybrid, or just an example of how varied ersatz bayonets really are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Tom Posted 11 February , 2012 Share Posted 11 February , 2012 SS, Many thanks. A closer look shows the hole in the upper hook. Old Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 11 February , 2012 Share Posted 11 February , 2012 So is it a weird hybrid, or just an example of how varied ersatz bayonets really are? If the blade looks to have had any period sharpening and/or grinding at the tip for service use, it could quite easily have lost that extra amount in length that way. I carefully measure all my bayonets and you do get slight variations in lengths, especially between makers - and you'd definitely expect variations in ersatz types. You should remember they were made in smaller workshops all over the country and sometimes the 'piecework' was sent to central factories for final assembly. The strictly controlled designs and manufacturing specifications all went out the window when it came to making these ersatz bayonets - they were needed fast.! Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscott Posted 12 February , 2012 Author Share Posted 12 February , 2012 Hi S>S Totally agree, and we are talking about a few mm here and there (except for the fuller). I think that for the sake of my sanity I will chalk it up as an EB43.5 and be done with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 13 February , 2012 Share Posted 13 February , 2012 ... I think that for the sake of my sanity I will chalk it up as an EB43.5 and be done with it. I would go along with that and S>S's comments about the irregular regular manufactureof these ersatzen! I have one with the blade and cross-guard of an EB 23 but the handle of an EB 28/29... Trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscott Posted 15 February , 2012 Author Share Posted 15 February , 2012 Wow. Nice one Trajan - its probably worth a fortune to the right collector! In relation to the ersatz bayonets, is the generally accepted position that they were manufactured in late 1914 and 1915 to bridge the gap between the burgeoning size of the German army and the number of "official" bayonets available (ie 98s, 98/05s etc)? And were the official bayonets pushed to the more elite units with the reserves etc picking up ersatz bayonets, or was the process a bit more random than that? I presume the latter... Do you know if Carter has any views on this? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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