No5 Jungle Carbine. Is this a copy?

[Andy Mac]

I bought this for my No5 and it fits perfect.I know BSA made the rifles but I can't find out if BSA made a bayonet.Could anyone help please?

Attachment 14334Attachment 14335Attachment 14336Attachment 14337Attachment 14338Attachment 14339Attachment 14340Attachment 14341

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[old-smithy]

My gut instinct because of the finish is that it is a fake, however the fake RFI ones do not have the cleanign hole. It coudl be a commercial rather than issue one, I woudl need to dig mine out to see if it is BSA made, but i think mine is unmarked. I just dont like the paint for an issue item

[browningautorifle]

Could it have been re done for the sub machine gun somewhere along the way?

[Peter Laidler]

It is a later Hopkins made No5 bayonet. Made for the commercial sales of the Sterling sub machine gun. Fully interchangeable with the No5 rifle of course. You can see that it has the roughness associated with this company. You can still see the harsh shear marks on the sides of the crosspiece. There is a little sequel to this........ After a while they couldn't get new Sterling SMG bayonet blades so carried on manufacture using L1A1 rifle bayonet blades. That was OK so far as it went, but the holes for the grip screws/rivets were in the 'wrong' place. As a result, the later Hopkinson No5 bayonets that utilised L1A1 rifle bayonet blades were produced with pressed steel grips that were configured for the rifle blade.

There. Not a lot of people know that but you do now if you happen to have a steel gripped No5 bayonet! The Army didn't accept these from Hopkinson. Another little bit of useless Enfield knowledge

[old-smithy]

Peter

ANother great snippet of info, that means yet again I have new blades to look out for ;-)

[browningautorifle]

That's not useless...it's something no one around here knew!

[Peter Laidler]

Thanks all for your kind comments. I do try! I don't know how common or rare the steel gripped No5 bayonets are but Hopkinson acquired the steel grips from UK Ordnance stockpiles as part payment against the supply of bayonets to the UK MoD. Just as a matter of interest, how rare/common are they?

[browningautorifle]

I've never see them in Canada.

[Andy Mac]

Thanks Peter.

I have had this bayonet a few years and never been able to find its history.It is nice to know it isnt a fake even if it wasn't made for the No5.

I did fire the No5 rifle with it attached once.The group was 3" higher than normal at fifty yards,so its been on the wall since.

Andy

[old-smithy]

I've a plstic gripped No5 but never seen a steel gripped one.