British .303 Rifle Bayonets

I am including this as a general overview for identification purposes only. Any serious collector of British or Commonwealth Bayonets should invest in a copy of Skennerton's British & Commonwealth Bayonets. I feel that this is an area often neglected by most rifle collectors, they treat them as just an accessory for the rifle and not an indiviudual piece in thier collection. There is just am much history in these blades as there are in the rifles. That being said, The following is a listing with images of the most common types of bayonets found for the .303 rilfes. I did not include trials items because most collectors are unlikely to come across them.

Pattern 1903 Bayonet This bayonet is basically a redesigned Pattern 1888 used on "Long Lee" rifles. The blade is a 12" non-fullered type, but the grip and pommel where changed to accept the nose cap mounting. There was a large number of Pattern 1888 converted to the P-1903 configuration by fitting them with the new pommels and grips.

Pattern 1907 Bayonet (Hooked Quillion) Following the introduction of the SMLE rifle, the War Department decided to intoduce a bayonet that was 5" longer than the P-1903, in order to give it the reach of the long lee's. They also decided at this time to include a hook on the quillion (hilt), the thinking being that if a rifleman engaged the enemy in a fencing duel they could hook the opponents blade and snap the enemys blade by twising his own rifle. The blade is 17" witha fuller on either side. This pattern remained in service until shortly before the Great War and was made in England, Austrailia and India. NOTE This bayonet tends to be relativley scarce and many fakes are on the market.

Pattern 1907 Bayonet (Bayonet No. 1 Mk I) After the hooked quillion was done away with in 1913, many of the earlier style bayonets were converted to this style by grinding off the hook. Further changes were made in 1916 when a 3/16" hole throught the pommel was added, to serve as a clean out for the bayonet lug track in the pommel. In 1926 the bayonets nomenclature was changed from the P-1907 to "Bayonet No 1 Mk I". This bayonet remained in service well into WWII. A collector will ususaly encounter some variations in this pattern(pommel & grip sizes and shapes and fullered and non-fullered blades) depending on the period of production and its manufacturer.

Pattern 1913 Sword-Bayonet This bayonet was designed for the Pattern 1914 rifles. There is some differences of opion as to if this rifle is an Enfield or not. I included it here because it shoots a .303 and it is ususaly refered to as an Enfield. The P-1913 is almost identical to the P-1907 bayonet, the only real difference being the crosspiece of the P-1913 is 3.05" long while the P-1907's is only 2.57" long. The muzzle ring is also only 0.61" as opposed to the P1907's which is 0.65". To easlily tell these two bayonets apart the grips of the P-1913 have two deep grooves cut in them to allow this bayonet to be identified quickly even in the dark.

No. 5 Mk 1 Bayonet Production of this bayonet for the Number 5 rifle, began in late 1943, with official approval begining in September 1944. The models made in 1943 and possibly very early 1944 will have only one screw in the hilt these are very rare, however and are likey to not be encountered. The number 5 bayonet is very similar in design to the No 1 Mk VI* India Pattern Bayonet. Its blade is fullered and measures 8" with a bowie style knife point, and 4" pommel with wooden grips. The hilt contains a large muzzle ring that fits over the flash eliminator on the No 5 rifle.

INDIA PATTERN BAYONETS: India like most of the other commonwealth contries produced and used the P-1907. India did so until WWII and after the rapid fall of Burma and Maylaya, where they learned some valuble lessons. The main leason was that long bayonets were not always usefull especially in the confines of jungle fighting.

No. 1 Mk I*(India Pattern) This is simply a P-1907 that has been cut down from 436mm to 303mm. It was believed to be easier to handle . The scabbards were also shortened to accomidate the new length.

No. 1 Mk II / No. 1 Mk II* (India Pattern) This is similar in size and shape to the No 1 Mk I* but is manufactured to those dimentions and lacks the fuller of the MkI*. The difference between the Mk II and Mk II* is that the latter has a false edge and these are more likely to been encountered as this modifcation was made to most of the Mk II in stock.

No. 1 Mk III / No. 1 Mk III* (India Pattern) This is similar in size and shape to the No 1 Mk I* but is manufactured to those dimentions and lacks the fuller of the MkI*, and also possesses a square pommel and grip. The difference between the Mk III and Mk III* is that the latter has a false edge and these are more likely to been encountered as this modifcation was made to most of the Mk II in stock.

No. 1 Mk VI* (India Pattern) These were the last of the bayonets designed for the SMLE rifle. It has a 8" unfullered blade with a bowie style knife point. It should be noted that the No 5 bayonet was based on this design and is sometimes mistaken for a No 5 bayonet.

SPIKE BAYONETS: Spike bayonets were in use from the late 1930's through 1948 rather than blade bayonets. These bayonets consisted of a socket and a spring loaded catch and and 8" spike and an overall length of 10". The spike style bayonets were lighter and did not affect the point of impact.

No 4 Mk I: These bayonets commonly refered to as cruciform because of the style of the blade were originally produced begining in November of 1939. Approximately 75,000 of this type were made by the Singer Manufacturing Company. They are marked S.M.C or S.M. In theory this style of bayonet would case wounds of a tri-form cross section that would heal slower than a poke from a blade or simple rod. This bayonet pattern was used on early No 4 Mk I rifles after being approved in 1930 for the No 1 Mk VI rifle. It is also milled from a single forging. A word of caution forgeries of this style of bayonet are encountered on a regular basis. Things to look for are shorter blades where a Mk II bayonet has had flutes added to the spike. Also sometimes the MkII marking is left on the body of the bayonet.

No 4 Mk II This variation of spike bayonet is usually the most commonly encountered of the No 4 bayonets. Its spike consists of a sharpened rod, with the milled fluted having been omited to simplify production. This model was approved in 1941 and made by Singer and several other subcontractors in the UK and by Savage and Long Branch in North America. There are also two variants of the Mk II bayonet one has a smooth shank and the other is stepped(see above pictures for detail)

No 4 Mk II* This variation is similar in design to the No 4 Mk II, but the rod or spike is fabricated separately from the socket and pinned and welded into place. This was approved at the same time as the No 4 Mk II, but this is a war time expedient that was made by a number of subcontractors in the U.K. until 1945.

No 4 MK III This is the last in the line of Spike Bayonets for the No 4 rifle. This design was another attempt to simplify production time and costs. The socet is fabricated from sheet steel and has rather rough castings. The rod is made seperate and pinned and then welded into place, and the catch is slightly different than previous mk's. This bayonet was approved in 1944 and made soley by the Joseph Lucas Ltd firm and ceased production in 1945. This Mk tends to be somewhat scarce and is not often encountered.

SOCKET BLADE BAYONETS: By the mid 40's there had been presure to go back to a blade bayonet, as the spike had never really been popular with the troops. Another factor in the decision to return to this style of bayonet was the succes in India and Austrailia with the short bladed bayonets for the No 1 rifles.

No 7 (Swivel Pommel) Bayonet This design was approved in 1945 and was designed to answer the demand for a combination bayonet and fighting knife. The pommel isa bayonet socket and is mounted ona spindle on which it rotates. When the pommel is turned down it resembles a regular blade bayonet. when the pommel is turned up the socket can be fitted over the barrel with the blade hanging under the barrel similar to the Number 9 bayonet. The hilt also has a muzzle ring that allows it to be used with the STEN although this feature serves no purpose on the No 4 rifle. Grips can varry from brown to red-orange and are made from various plastic and composite materials.

No 9 Standard (UK Model) This bayonet was namufactured in the U.K. byt he RSA facotry at Enfield adn ROF at Poole and in Canada by Canadian Arsenals Ltd. The No 9 bayonet has a eight inch blade and for all practical purposes is identical the the No 5 bayonet blade. If was manucatured from 1948 until 1962.

No. 9 South African This variant of the No 9 Bayonet was made in South Africa by a subsidiary of Armscor. The blade on this No 9 is shorter than the standard and measures 6 1/2 ", and is identical to the bayonet made in Israel for the UZI SMG. It has a spear point and non-fullered blade. Manufacture of this variant was during the 1960's.