A bayonet (from French baïonnette) is a knife, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear.[1] In this regard, it is an ancillary close-quarter combat or last-resort weapon.
However, knife-shaped bayonets—when not fixed to a gun barrel—have long been utilized by soldiers in the field as general purpose cutting implements.
Krag Bowie Bayonet marked 1900
M1 Bayonet made by American Fork & Hoe; used with M1 Garand
The U.S. M6 bayonet and sheath used with the M14 rifle
M7 Bayonet and M8A1 Sheath used with M16 rifle
Adopted in 1984, the U.S. M9 bayonet and sheath used with the M16 rifle and M4 carbine.
The USMC OKC-3S Bayonet
References[]
Hunting weapons, Howard L Blackmore, 2000, Dover Publications
- ↑ Brayley, Martin, Bayonets: An Illustrated History, Iola, WI: Krause Publications, ISBN 0-87349-870-4, ISBN 978-0-87349-870-8 (2004), pp. 9-10, 83-85