No. 7 Bayonet
| No. 7 Bayonet | |
|---|---|
| Type | Bayonet |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| Used by | United Kingdom |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| No. built | 176,000 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 311 mm (12.2 in) |
| Blade length | 200 mm (7.9 in)[1] |
The No. 7 Bayonet was a bayonet primarily used with the Sten Mk V submachine gun.[2] 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 gun.[3]
Design
[edit]The No. 7 bayonet was an advanced design that could be configured as either a blade or socket type bayonet, and could also be used as a fighting knife.[2] It was intended to replace the No. 4 Bayonet in service and used the blade of the No. 5 Bayonet.[2]
Production
[edit]The design was finalized by Wilkinson Sword, who made 1,000 in 1944.[3] The No. 7 bayonet went into mass production in 1945 and stayed in production for a short time post-war.[2] As a majority of production of this design was post-war, it was mainly produced by government weapons factories due to spare capacity at the end of the war.[2] The majority were made by the Royal Ordnance Factory, Newport who made 100,000.[2] The Royal Ordanance Factory Poole made 30,000. Birmingham Small Arms Company, the famous weapons company who manufactured the Besa machine gun and Welrod Silenced pistol, made 25,000.[2] One producer, which was not a weapons company, was Elkington & Co., traditionally a maker of silver products, made 20,000.[2] Overall, 176,000 No. 7 bayonets were produced.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ Bayonets listed by overall length. Bayonets Listed by Overall Length Less Than 15.75 in. (400 mm.). (n.d.). https://worldbayonets.com/Misc__Pages/bayonets_by_length/index_by_oal.html
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "British Bayonets World War II and Post-War". worldbayonets.com. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
- ^ a b "British WW2 No.7 Mk1 Land Service Bayonet | Bygone Blades". www.bygoneblades.com. Retrieved 2021-08-18.