US Navy WW2 Mk.1 Training Bayonet
‘Blade’ of hard black Bakelite plastic over steel core, black plastic hilt, ribbed black plastic grips over steel core with scabbard/rifle locking button. Green plastic scabbard with steel throat piece and wire webbing attachment.
The exposed metal of the ricasso is stamped on one side with ‘U.S.N. MARK 1’, and on the other with the maker’s mark ’PBC’ (Parris-Dunn Corporation) and ‘NXSO-29524’. The throat piece of the scabbard is also stamped with ‘USN MK 1’
These bayonets were designed for use with the U.S. Navy Mark 1 Dummy Training Rifle, which was produced during the Second World War by the Parris-Dunn Corporation of Clarinda, Iowa to replicate the US Model 1903 Springfield rifle which was carried on many US Navy vessels. 300,000 were manufactured for the Navy in 1942 and 43, and thereafter a further 200,000 of a civilian model for drill corps, schools and ROTC programs. The Navy sold off its stocks as surplus in 1945. The brittle plastic used on these bayonets did not mix well with the rigours of training, and examples with no damage at all are very rare.
About two-thirds of the muzzle ring and most of the lower finial of the hilt have been lost. Some minor scraping to the chape of the scabbard and sides of the grip scales. Blade is very good and undamaged. Having been recovered from an agricultural estate, the bayonet is possessed of a barn-like aroma.