1943 Indian Enfield Bayonets (Ethiopian Refurbishment)

[Aragorn243]

I tend to do things in spurts because I'm thinking about them so these Indian bayonets always seem to appear in twos or threes for me.

The first is the one I got from Sarco and mentioned on that thread. This is advertised as an Ethiopian refurbishment using 1917 grips. The bayonet was originally manufactured by RFI in India which is the most common manufacturer of these. When I had it next to the second one, I also noticed that it is half an inch shorter. I have not dug out my others to see if this is abnormal or a manufacturer difference. Date of manufacture appears to be scrubbed. The factory refurbishment appears to have been 1953. What I thought were possible Ethiopian symbols are just numbers I couldn't see right with my new post surgery eyesight. Looks like TD over 23 and I have no idea what that means. Possible rack numbers on the end.









The second I found the same day and it came today. This is a more rare one. M.I.L. or Metal Industries Lahore which is now in Pakistan. One of the more crude bayonets and the "stamping" looks more like hand engraving. Second half of date is missing on this one. 4 is all that is showing.

[Aragorn243]

Here's some more of my Indian bayonets. This is another of the rare ones, JU (Julum Arsenal) which is another Pakistan armory if I remember correctly.













---------- Post added at 05:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:32 PM ----------

And I can confirm that the Ethiopian bayonet was shortened 1/2 inch. All other bayonets that I located (I think I have two or three more somewhere based on other photos I have) are the same.



---------- Post added at 05:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:37 PM ----------

This is an RFI 1945 MKIII with square pommel.











---------- Post added at 05:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:41 PM ----------

This is an MWR MKII 1942













---------- Post added at 05:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:45 PM ----------

NWR MKII 1944