Len S Posted February 15, 2018 Share #1 Posted February 15, 2018 I picked this bayonet over the weekend at a gun show. It's a German Model 1898/05aA commonly referred to as a "butcher blade". This one came equipped with a saw back for use by the "pioniers" and other specialist troops. It was made by the cutlery firm "Alex Coppel / Solingen" in 1913 for the Bavarian Army. An American sailor on board the USS Lake Helen acquired it and acid etched it with his name and his ship's along with other particulars. Here are some pics. Len Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len S Posted February 15, 2018 Author Share #2 Posted February 15, 2018 More pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USCapturephotos Posted February 15, 2018 Share #3 Posted February 15, 2018 Wow. I like how the sailor personalized the blade. Thanks for showing us your new find. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntssurplus Posted February 15, 2018 Share #4 Posted February 15, 2018 Nice bayonet, really cool that its a bringback. Thanks for sharing!Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katieony Posted February 15, 2018 Share #5 Posted February 15, 2018 A really interesting bring-back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-40Warhawk Posted February 15, 2018 Share #6 Posted February 15, 2018 Actually it could well be the USS Lake Helen; it's hard for me to see which it is, but here is the Lake Helen http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/174215e.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted February 15, 2018 Share #7 Posted February 15, 2018 This bayonet I'm pretty convinced belonged to a Sergeant in Grenadier-Regiment Königin Olga (1. Württembergisches) Nr. 119, see the O with Crown, apart from Pioneere this type of bayonet was sometimes carried by NCOs, I gather in Infantry Regiments. The Cypher of the Gren Regt Nr 119, the O stands as you guessed, for OLGA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olga_Nikolaevna_of_Russia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted February 15, 2018 Share #8 Posted February 15, 2018 Is there marking on the hilt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted February 15, 2018 Share #9 Posted February 15, 2018 A big correction on the marking, seems this crown with the O is for King Otto of Bavaria rather then the Koengin Olga Regiment. Was cruising the GW Forum, and found this cypher. Here is the spine fraktur mark: Koenig Otto 1907. See more on Otto Von Bayern. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_of_Bavaria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlewilly Posted April 11, 2018 Share #10 Posted April 11, 2018 Infantry NCO's did carry these. The French had a tendency to summarily execute any German soldier captured carrying one of these. That is why so many are found with the saw tooth edge ground away. MHJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Keith Posted April 11, 2018 Share #11 Posted April 11, 2018 It appears that the sailor used the acid etching process on the blade the way they made the USN "dog" tags a the time, really COOL! Thanks for posting it. BKW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w4uvv Posted June 3, 2018 Share #12 Posted June 3, 2018 I picked this bayonet over the weekend at a gun show. It's a German Model 1898/05aA commonly referred to as a "butcher blade". This one came equipped with a saw back for use by the "pioniers" and other specialist troops. It was made by the cutlery firm "Alex Coppel / Solingen" in 1913 for the Bavarian Army. An American sailor on board the USS Lake Helen acquired it and acid etched it with his name and his ship's along with other particulars. Here are some pics. Len I also have a nice WWI "Butcher Blade" "sawback" bayonet. It was a multi-purpose weapon and a handy tool for wood cutting or whatever. Sometimes that "whatever" happened to be the Germans sometimes used it in part killing British, French and later American soldiers. It was so hated and feared by the Allies, Germany was officially informed of the Allies' policy regarding use of this bayonet in combat. The policy was that any German soldier possessing this type of bayonet would not be taken prisoner but shot and killed. It had a chilling effort on the German trench soldiers and had some success in reduction of it being used. After WW1 ended at one of the post war Allied conferences, this particular bayonet type was banned for use in any future military conflict. Since Germany lost the war I don't they were given a vote on the subject. Interestingly, none of the German forces in WW2 used a version of this bayonet. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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