Original German Cold War Era Extremely Rare West German Made M-1905 Bayonet and Scabbard Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. After testing in early 1943, the U.S. Army decided to shorten the M1905 bayonet’s blade to 10 inches (25.4 cm). Production of this new bayonet, designated the M1, began at the five remaining manufacturers by April 1943. Because of quality control issues and problems meeting delivery expectations, Wilde Drop Forge and Tool was dropped from the bayonet production program after finishing their run of M1905 bayonets. As many of the M1905 bayonets already in service as possible were recalled, their blades were cut down, and they were reissued; roughly 1 million bayonets underwent this process. The first shortened bayonets were delivered in September 1943, and deliveries continued at a rate of 40-50,000 per month until August 1945.

This bayonet did not start its life as a 16 inch one nor was it shortened to 10 inches, this bayonet started its life in West Germany some time in the 1960s. This example is one of only a few hundred ever made and the information on them is more obscure than the bayonet itself.

The November 1957 issue of The American Rifleman pp. 17-20 In the West German Army…Arms and Arms Training by Jac Weller, gives a brief overview of the Bundeswehr, their weapons, and training. The Germans were asked their opinion of each of the American weapons they were using including the M1 Garand, M1 carbine, M2 carbine, Browning machine guns, BAR, Thompson .45, and the 1911A1 .45 pistol. The consensus of the Germans, confirmed by American military personnel involved in training, was the quality of the American weapons was very good, but they didn’t care for any of the weapons due to a different warfare culture. With two exceptions. “They do not for a moment believe the M1 carbine is the equal of the Garand [which they thought too heavy but was still used] in power and accuracy, but they do like it because it is shorter, lighter, and handier in the field. They like the M2 version of the carbine better because it has a selective lever for full automatic fire.”

With American weapons in their newly formed arsenal, they needed accessories and other items for them, including bayonets. This bayonet is almost nearly identical to American produced ones with the main difference being the pommel and grip scales. The pommel on these German M1s were almost squared off on the bottoms without the “beak” seen on American ones and the grip scales were checkered plastic. There are no markings on neither the bayonet nor scabbard. The condition on both is close to excellent with almost all original finish and paint present on both.

This is a strange bayonet, perfect for the advanced edged weapons collectors. Comes more than ready for further research and display.

Specifications:
Blade Length: 10″
Blade Style: Single Edged with Fuller
Overall length: 14 1/4“
Crossguard: 3 1/8”
Scabbard Length: 11 1/4″