Pics needed for identification!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Aragorn243
I picked up a carcano bayonet
Sorry Aragorn, but that is like saying "I have an Enfield bayonet" - there is just not enough information for identification. Pics are needed!
:wave:
Carcano M91/41 bayonet, circa 1941
Ok, now we are getting somewhere!
Aragorn, please position your baxonet with the hilt up and the blade down.
Now take another look at the marking on the ricasso:
That looks like an R superimposed, and slightly above a C. This is the monogram for the manufacturer ROCCA. CORRECTION Renato Castelli, not Rocca, see later posting!ROCCA made M91 bayonets in WWII for use with the M91/41
On the crosspiece, beteween the muzzle ring and the grip, we see a clear PS.
This is a stamp from the component supplier PS (full name unknown), also known as a supplier of parts in WWII, in particular bayonets, up to 1942.
The mark in front of that bothers me. It could be a worn or badly struck O (letter) or 0 (number). Either way, it lines up so badly with the PS, that I doubt it is a part of the PS stamp. Is thare any trace of further numbers in front of that - it could be the remains of a year stamp "1940".
The M91 bayonet was produced in quantity from 1940 on, and used both for the M91 and the M91/41. Bring it round to my place, and we'll see if it fits on "Roma". OK, not a realistic suggestion! But maybe you will come across an M91/41 somewhere.
On the crosspiece, the RB 389** would have been a matrix number back in WWI, with the format A xxxx or AB xxxx as previously described in identifying a Carcano on the General Discussion forum. But in WWII this system seems to have broken down, certainly for accessories, and the marking on the cross piece was often a manufacturers name (batch?)/number stamp. It is not a regimental marking - the Italians did not use a regimental marking system.
From the pics, the blade seems to have been blued. If original, that would date it to 1941 or later. Later still, a parkerisation was used.
My best guess: an M91 bayonet from ROCCA, I]CORRECTION Renato Castelli, not Rocca, see later posting![/I]made in 1941 (possibly 1942) from parts from more than one supplier (i.e. whatever was in the bin), probably for use with an M91/41.
Other informed guesses welcomed!
:wave:
P.S. **I have found Rxxx and RFxxxx, both recorded for FAT/Terni on M91/41s made in 1941. But no trace of a manufacturer RB. So maybe RB 389 is a matrix number after all.
P.P.S. For those who do not know what a matrix number is. The matrix number was the master record number for the rifle (and in this case, maybe for the bayonet issued with it) from a block assigned to a particular arsenal/factory. This was not a regimental number - it was supposed to be invariant, wherever the rifle ended up.
