Hey gang. I’d like to enlist your help in possibly identifying the antique bayonet and scabbard shown below. It has been in a box in my attic for over 25 years; it was in my fathers possession before that, and almost certainly came from his father.
My paternal grandfather was born in 1900 and served in both World War I and World War II, as well as a stint between the wars; he worked his way up to Chief Pharmacists Mate at his eventual honorable discharge on September 14, 1945. As far as I know he never saw true combat (his service was mostly in convoy duty as far as I can tell), but he served on seven unique ships, and his service career makes for a fascinating read itself. He passed away in 1997, three weeks after his 97th birthday.
He is known to have brought souvenirs back from his travels during both wars; my oldest brother is in possession of a Mauser C96 pistol with the original wooden case that becomes a shoulder stock; grandpa brought that home after a cruise to the UK during WWI. The bayonet and scabbard I have are not so easy for me to identify however. I’ve searched online and have yet to come up with anything concrete. My assumption is that he also brought this home as a war souvenir.
The blade is covered in hardened grease (or maybe Cosmoline?); I’m loathe to try and clean it off. The only identifying marks are “VX 3590” stamped on the edge of the guard, and a small “CT” inside an oval stamped into the leather of the scabbard. The catch and catch button are frozen up with rust.
The overall length with the scabbard is 15-1/2” (393.5 mm); the overall length of the bayonet alone is 14-3/8” (365 mm), and the barrel ring is 11/16” (17.5 mm) diameter. The blade itself is 9-3/8” (238 mm).
I don’t really have a lot of knowledge of knives really, so I thought I’d put it out to you all to perhaps help crowd-source some info. I’ll post a few more detail photos in a follow-up. Much appreciated;
It certainly looks like you found it. The only difference being the circled portion (found on many French bayonets) is longer on the Italian one you show. But that sure looks like it otherwise.
Hmmm. It sure does. I went ahead and cleaned off the goo from the ricasso, no markings there at all. Yes the handle and the catch button ‘spring’ are slightly different. So many other similarities though… the mystery continues!
Thanks so much everyone for your input and sleuthing! I have a feeling that someone long ago filed off the markings on the ricasso. This sure does match the knife in the suction that Robin shared, the details are identical. I’ll go with Italian
