Portuguese m/938 Bayonet for the MP34 Solothurn Submachine Gun

Single-fullered spear-pointed blade, steel hilt and muzzle ring, steel beaked pommel, wood grips secured by two screws. Steel scabbard with frog hook.

The ricasso of the blade is stamped on one side with the manufacturer ‘SIMSON & Co SUHL’. The pommel is stamped with the serial number ‘1331’.

Portugal bought a small number of MP34s chambered in .45 ACP from Steyr-Solothurn in 1935, which they designated the Pistola-metralhadora 11,43mm m/935. These met with approval and an order followed in 1938 for more, this time chambered in 7.65x21mm Luger, which was designated the Pistola-metralhadora 7,65 mm m/938. Finally in 1941 and 1942 a larger order, this time chambered in 9mm was delivered, the Pistola-metralhadora 9 mm m/942.

The bayonet for the m/938, which also fits the m/942, was a conversion of the Portuguese M1904 bayonet, it being cheaper to rehilt and refinish existing blades than to purchase new Austrian M1895 bayonets.

The m/942, like all MP34s, was very well-made, reliable and durable, and remained in Portuguese service well into the 1970s, when it was used in combat in Africa during the Portuguese wars in Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique.

The blade retains its original glossy blued finish, so deep as to appear black, with track marks from sheathing and drawing and some light scratching from the same around the tip. The hilt, pommel and scabbard are coated with black lacquer, with some very light wear on raised edges, notably almost all worn off the locking button from handling. The wood grips are very good, with just one oval dent of moderate depth to one of the slabs. The scabbard is free of dents and retains its blued finish, with some spots of rubbing revealing lightly patinated steel, most notably a patch along one side edge, pictured.