French Sword-Bayonets
Feb 5, 2016 6:31:54 GMT
Post by Afoo on Feb 5, 2016 6:31:54 GMT
I recently came into possession of two French sword bayonets, which I am keen to show off. I post these here because they represent the extreme in terms of size for mainstream, mass issued bayonets (excluding cutlass bayonets and sword bayonets issued to irregular forces such as those issued by John Jacobs). As such, while most "sword" bayonets are just really large knives, these two represent examples which do actually live up to their name, and I would be happy to use at least the first example shown here as a sword in the field.
On that note, the first one I would like to show off is an M1866 Yataghan Bayonet for the Chassepot rifle - the bayonet that for many embodies the style brought about by the earlier French 1840 bayonet, and doubtlessly inspired many copies abroad (Egypt M1867, Turkish 1874 and others). This particular example came from the St. Etienne armoury in 1868, and measures 27.5 inches long with a 22.75 inch blade. This is the type of bayonet which would have seen service in the Franco-Prussian war, as well as the smaller colonial conflicts at the twilight of the 19th century.
Below is the successor to the M1866 - the M1874 Gras bayonet. The Gras rifle was actually a conversion of the Chassepot design to accept brass cartridges. As far as firearm designs go, it is somewhat conservative, being a gradual evolution of the pre-existing model. Logically, the bayonet for the Gras rifle likewise differs very little from its predecessor...except in every way possible. The curved Yataghan blade has been replaced by a slim, T-backed spike. Measuring in at 25.5 inches with a 20.6 inch blade, the M1874 is no slouch, but its definitely a very different animal. Introduced too late to see service against the Germans, the M1874 was mainly used on colonial conflicts alongside the older M1866. I believe examples sent overseas were marked with an anchor, which this one is sadly missing. This particular example comes from the St. Etienne armour as well, but dated at 1879
Shown at the bottom for scale is the Windlass Poignard (Also a new acquisition), whose 14 inch blade would be considered quite "long" in most other context, but is by far the shortest one here.
Here is another picture of the M1866 next to a CS cutlass, The fact that its labeled as a bayonet disguises how big this thing really is!
A closer view of the T-backed profile of the M1874
It's not obvious from most pictures, but the Yataghan bayonet also has a partial T-backed profile as well. It has the fuller, but the blade infront of the fuller is a bit thinner than I expected, and conversely the blade that lies behind the fuller is considerably thicker, giving it a heavily reinforced spine. Kinda neat
In the hand, both are excellent. I have some later sword-bayonet patterns - the 1907 British and the 1891 Brazilian (Mauser). Both are pretty nice, but a bit crude and heavy in the hand. The T-backed (or semi-T-backed) design of the French patterns makes them much lighter and more refined.
On that note, the first one I would like to show off is an M1866 Yataghan Bayonet for the Chassepot rifle - the bayonet that for many embodies the style brought about by the earlier French 1840 bayonet, and doubtlessly inspired many copies abroad (Egypt M1867, Turkish 1874 and others). This particular example came from the St. Etienne armoury in 1868, and measures 27.5 inches long with a 22.75 inch blade. This is the type of bayonet which would have seen service in the Franco-Prussian war, as well as the smaller colonial conflicts at the twilight of the 19th century.
Below is the successor to the M1866 - the M1874 Gras bayonet. The Gras rifle was actually a conversion of the Chassepot design to accept brass cartridges. As far as firearm designs go, it is somewhat conservative, being a gradual evolution of the pre-existing model. Logically, the bayonet for the Gras rifle likewise differs very little from its predecessor...except in every way possible. The curved Yataghan blade has been replaced by a slim, T-backed spike. Measuring in at 25.5 inches with a 20.6 inch blade, the M1874 is no slouch, but its definitely a very different animal. Introduced too late to see service against the Germans, the M1874 was mainly used on colonial conflicts alongside the older M1866. I believe examples sent overseas were marked with an anchor, which this one is sadly missing. This particular example comes from the St. Etienne armour as well, but dated at 1879
Shown at the bottom for scale is the Windlass Poignard (Also a new acquisition), whose 14 inch blade would be considered quite "long" in most other context, but is by far the shortest one here.
Here is another picture of the M1866 next to a CS cutlass, The fact that its labeled as a bayonet disguises how big this thing really is!
A closer view of the T-backed profile of the M1874
It's not obvious from most pictures, but the Yataghan bayonet also has a partial T-backed profile as well. It has the fuller, but the blade infront of the fuller is a bit thinner than I expected, and conversely the blade that lies behind the fuller is considerably thicker, giving it a heavily reinforced spine. Kinda neat
In the hand, both are excellent. I have some later sword-bayonet patterns - the 1907 British and the 1891 Brazilian (Mauser). Both are pretty nice, but a bit crude and heavy in the hand. The T-backed (or semi-T-backed) design of the French patterns makes them much lighter and more refined.