bayonetman Posted January 30, 2016 Share #1 Posted January 30, 2016 I recently obtained a photo of a large number of blank forgings for the M1 bayonet. The photo was taken for a newspaper article in 1943 in the Kelly Axe and Tool Works plant of American Fork and Hoe located in Charleston, West Virginia. The information on the back of the photo says "This pile of bayonet forgings is being loaded on a hand truck by a workman for placing in production at the American Fork and Hoe Bayonet Plant of Ashtabula, Ohio. These forgings were produced in the Charleston, West Virginia plant." (Wording slightly altered for clarity). I am not sure that he is putting them on the hand truck, I think it is more likely that he is taking them from the truck and loading the pallets. The forgings were done in Charleston at the Kelly plant, which specialized in axes and hatchets, as they had a large capacity for doing hot drop forgings, and then were sent to Ashtabula for finishing and assembly. The Kelly plant also produced military axes and machetes. There is certainly a large number of forgings in the photo, but it must be remembered that AFH was delivering over 1,000 finished bayonets per working day. One workman at the plant stated that they shipped about 10,000 forgings by truck to Ashtabula about every two weeks. A single forging is shown under the photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKIPH Posted January 30, 2016 Share #2 Posted January 30, 2016 I am totally impressed with the amount of forgings just in the photo. Based on what I see they were placed on the rack in both directions. Amazing! SKIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Keith Posted February 2, 2016 Share #3 Posted February 2, 2016 Great photo and great info! I really like these type of home front photos and information. Thanks for posting it. BKW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted February 7, 2016 Share #4 Posted February 7, 2016 Hey I think I see my bayonet in that stack.....eight rows down and ten from the left! Ronnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted February 7, 2016 Share #5 Posted February 7, 2016 Great foto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1nion Posted January 7, 2018 Share #6 Posted January 7, 2018 Great find! I recently picked up an M1 bayonet blank and was looking for some picture proof of what it was. Thank you very much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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