Original British No. 7 Mk. I/L Swivel Pommel Bayonet Fighting Knife by Royal Ordnance Factory with Scabbard – Dated 1946 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a beautiful example of the once already uncommon but now rare No. 7 bayonet. The No. 7 Bayonet was a bayonet primarily used with the Sten Mk V submachine gun. However, it could be used on the No. 4 Lee-Enfield, but only for ceremonial purposes as the bayonet obstructed the path of the .303 round fired from the rifle. It is marked with on the blade ricasso next to the year 1946.

The ℗ is the manufacturer marking for the Royal Ordnance in Poole. The Royal Ordnance Factory in Poole was situated in Sopers Lane, Creekmoor (the site is currently occupied by Siemens), and although it manufactured aircraft guns during and after the Second World War and was a large employer in Poole.

It was designed to replace the much maligned No.4 Spike bayonet with a new design that featured the popular “Bowie” blade of the No.5 Jungle Carbine bayonet. It would additionally also be able to function as a fighting knife. While it met those requirements in an ingenious way, it proved to be cumbersome in practice, and was only ever used for ceremonial purposes.

The bayonet itself has a 7 3/4 inch bright steel “bowie” style clip-point blade, with a wide fuller running down each side, as also seen on the No.5 and No.9 bayonets, with an overall length of 12 1/4 inches. It features grip scales made of a resin impregnated cloth composite, Paxolin, with deep finger grooves to make it function better as a fighting knife. Like most we have seen, this example has a reddish color to the grip.

The bayonet is mounted on a rotating pommel, which enables it to be mounted to the front of the gun. The large barrel ring did not actually fit over the barrel at all, and was intended as a cross guard, albeit one that would not impede firing. Condition is very good, with an overall lightly stained patina on the steel blade.

Always scarce but now very rare to find. Ready to Display!

Dimensions:
Blade length: 7 3/4”
Blade style: Clip Point “Bowie” with Fuller
Overall length: 2 3/4”
Crossguard: 3 1/4”
Scabbard length: 8 5/8