Original British WWII SMLE No.4 MKII Spike Bayonet Original Items

Original Item: Rare WW2 standard issue spike bayonet. Steel forged socket fitted to round steel spike blade. For use with No 4 MK2 SMLE Enfield Rifle and Sten Mark V submachine gun. Hard to Find. Marked ” No 4 MK II”.

Scabbard not included.

Please note these are genuine military surplus and will arrive in old cosmoline (grease) for you to clean.

Dimensions:
Blade length: 8”
Blade Style: Spike
Overall length: 10”

No. 4 bayonet
The No. 4 bayonet was created to replace the current bayonet at the time in service which was the World War I vintage Pattern 1907 bayonet. It was the result of the British search for a new bayonet to replace the Pattern 1907 which began just after World War I which came to the conclusion around the beginning of World War II that the best replacement for the pattern 1907 bayonet would be a spike-type bayonet. This was then implemented which led to the No. 4 becoming a spike-type bayonet. The design of the No. 4 bayonet is said to have been taken from Swiss socket bayonets. The No. 4 bayonet was accepted into service alongside the No. 4 rifle.

During the course of World War II the design of the No. 4 bayonet changed over time. The first variant, the No. 4 mk I bayonet, much like other weapons at the beginning of World War II, was high quality. Hence relatively few of this variant of the No. 4 bayonet were produced. The next variant made in 1942 and the most produced one is the No. 4 mk II bayonet which saved production time by omitting milling the blade in the production process but had no other design changes. After the No. 4 mk II bayonet the design was further changed in 1942 to save costs and disperse production by making the blade and socket separately and this became the bayonet No. 4 mk II*. The final variant of the No. 4 bayonet is the bayonet No. 4 mk III which further reduced the cost of a bayonet by making the socket out of welding stamped steel pieces instead of as a single piece.