Bayonet date of manufacture

[Calflash]

Can anybody date 1905 bayonets RIA Serial #394327 and SA Serial #27632 by year and month?

 

 

[Calflash]

the month is what I can't figure.

[bayonetman]

It is impossible to tell the exact month that a bayonet was made in. All we can do is estimate, based on the total number made during the calendar year, divided by 12. One source in Springfield records indicates that bayonets were made in batches, not on an everyday basis.

 

That does NOT apply to 1906. Springfield records for Fiscal 1906 states that: "As the form of knife bayonet was not approved until May 5, 1905, and as frequent changes since then have been made in its construction, but 2,100 were fully completed during the year." (The year mentioned ended on June 30, 1906.) "There were, however, about 80,000 in various stages of completion. They are being finished at the rate of about 430 daily." This would indicate that ABOUT 2,200 a week were being finished at that time, although it sped up as time went on. This would take ABOUT 11 weeks for # 27632 to be finished, therefore sometime in September 1906.

 

RIA # 394327 would have been made ABOUT August-September 1918.

[Calflash]

Thanks Gary. That whole fiscal year and poor math skills makes my head hurt.