The M1917 is an American bayonet-knife designed specifically for use with the M1917 Enfield rifle and a number of other specimens of American small arms from World War I.
| M1917 | |
|---|---|
 Bayonet M1905 (for Springfield M1903 rifle) and M1917 (for M1917 Enfield rifle) | |
| Type of | bayonet knife |
| A country |  USA |
| Service History | |
| In service | USA |
| Wars and conflicts |
|
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Remington Arms , Winchester Arms , Eddystone Arms , General Cutlery , Canadian Arsenals Limited |
| Years of production | 1910s - 1930s, 1960s |
| Total released | OK. 2 million |
| Specifications | |
| Weight kg | 0.511 |
| Length mm | 555 |
| Blade length mm | 435 |
| Width mm | 24 |
| Blade type | knife, single-blade |
Content
Description
The bayonet-knife was created on the basis of the bayonet-knife of the 1913 model (the predecessor is the British bayonet-knife of the 1907 model ), which was attached to the British Pattern 1914 Enfield rifle, which has been manufactured since 1917 under license in the USA. Option M1917 Enfield , specially converted to a caliber of 7.62 Γ 63 mm , just provided for the mounting of a new bayonet M1917 [1] .
The length of the bayonet-knife is 555 mm, the length of the blade is 435 mm, the width is 34 mm. The inner diameter of the ring for attaching the bayonet is 15.5 mm. The handle is formed by wooden cheeks, on which two transverse grooves are applied; the cheeks of the handle are fastened to the shank with two screws. In the handle head there is a T-shaped groove, a spring latch with an internal arrangement of a spiral spring and a through hole for cleaning the groove. The bayonet cross is straight, on the left heel of the bayonet there is a marking with the name of the model and manufacturer, on the right heel is the year of manufacture and inspection stamps. Stamps of the manufacturer can also be placed on the leather surface of the sheath, the iron parts of the device and the leather blade of the sheath. For the bayonet, an American-style sheath was created with a rotating bracket and a leather blade on it, as well as an English-style one without a bracket and without a blade (sample No. 1) [1] .
Due to the different diameters of the rings for attaching the bayonet, the M1917 bayonet-knife is not compatible with Springfield M1903 rifles (used M1905 ) and M1 Garand .
Combat use
The M1917 bayonet was used by the U.S. Army on the Western Front of World War I. Originally designed as a bayonet-knife for the M1917 Enfield, it was compatible with a number of other rifles, as it allowed to successfully fight hand-to-hand in a trench warfare .
Later it was used in the Banana Wars , as well as in World War II - the new rifles produced were compatible mainly with this bayonet. Later it was used in the Korean War, and in 1966, a contract was unexpectedly signed for the supply of a new batch of bayonets to American troops in Vietnam. The production of new bayonets was conducted by General Cutlery and Canadian Arsenals Ltd. , however, bayonets were used to a limited extent in the Vietnam War .
The M1917 was replaced with new bayonet-knives - the M5 for the Stevens Model 77E smoothbore gun and M7 for the Remington 870 Mk 1 smoothbore gun ( US Marine Corps ).
Compatible Rifles
- M1917 Enfield
- Winchester model 1897
- Winchester model 1912
- Stevens Model 520-30
- Stevens model 620
- Remington Model 10
- Ithaca Model 37
- Winchester model 1200
See also
- US Army Individual Weapons List
Notes
Links
- US M1917 Bayonet
- Cunningham, Gary Collecting the US Bayonet, Model 1917 . UsMilitaryKnives.com (July 2003).