M1942 bayonet

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The M1942 Bayonet was designed to be used with the .30 caliber U.S. Rifle M1, or M1 Garand. The blade is 16 inches (40.6 cm) long and the handle is 4 inches (10.1 cm) long.

The M1942 is an exact copy of the M1905 Bayonet, which was made for the .30 caliber U.S. Rifle Model 1903. Variants of the M1903 rifle were produced during World War I and World War II by Springfield Armory, Remington Arms, Rock Island Arsenal, and Smith-Corona Typewriter.

Interchangeability allowed the M1942 bayonet to be used on any of these M1903 rifles, as well as mounting the earlier M1905 bayonet on WWII M1 Garand rifles. More M1905/M1942s were manufactured to keep up with wartime production of the M1 Garand.

In 1943, the U.S. Army decided a shorter bayonet would be better, so as many of the M1905/1942s as possible were recalled, had their blades cut down to 10 inches, and were reissued. These shortened bayonets, along with the newly made 10-inch bayonets, are called M1 bayonets.

[edit] Production

American Fork and Hoe         350,000     23%
Oneida, Limited               235,000     16%
Pal Blade and Tool            250,000     17%
Utica Cutlery                 225,000     15%
Union Fork and Hoe            385,000     26%
Wilde Drop Forge and Tool     60,000      4%

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