Pictures (click to enlarge) |
Type | Description | Blade Length |
Overall Length |
Muzzle |
Markings | |||
in. | mm. | in. | mm. | in. | mm. | ||||
Carter EB9 Ottobre #2302 |
Turkish-shortened German ersatz bayonet.
Distinguishing characteristics include: a pressed steel grip; flattened pommel butt with a blunt nose and contoured finger edge; stepped one-piece crossguard with two-stage muzzle ears; fullered, German-made blade, shortened. The scabbard is a shortened German ersatz scabbard. In shortening the scabbard, Turkey also cut off the very tip and attached a ball finial. The two-step muzzle ring allows fitment on both the 8 mm. Mauser Gewehr 98 and earlier 8 mm. Gewehr 88 (Commission Rifle). The muzzle-ring diameter listed is for the upper step. Lower step diameter is 0.545 in. (13.8 mm.). |
9.75 |
248 | 14.625 |
371 | .690 |
17.5 | Crosspiece: "9064" |
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Carter EB9 Ottobre #23021 |
Turkish-shortened German ersatz bayonet.
Distinguishing characteristics include: a pressed steel grip; Flattened pommel butt with blunt nose and contoured finger edge; stepped one-piece crossguard with two-stage muzzle ears; fullered, German-made blade, shortened; and, original crossguard with muzzle ears removed. Scabbard is a typical Turkish scabbard with an oval frog stud. Absence of muzzle ears limits this example to use only with the 8 mm. Mauser Gewehr 98. |
9.75 | 248 | 14.625 | 371 | n/a | None. | ||
|
Carter EB22 Ottobre #1313 |
Unmodified German ersatz bayonet.
Distinguishing characteristics include: a cast brass grip; thin false crosspiece beginning in the center of the hilt; sharp pommel beak; raised reverse lug catch aperture, and single-stage muzzle ears. It has long been believed that single-stage muzzle ears allow mounting only to the 8 mm. Mauser Gewehr 98. However, this is not always the case. Some of what appear to be single-stage muzzle ears are actually a simplified oval that allows mounting to both the Gewehr 88 and Gewehr 98. This bayonet is such an example, as these images of it mounted to a Gewehr 88 attest. Credit for this discovery goes to Dennis 'Otto' Ottobre, whose research on Turkish bayonets has made him a leading authority on Ersatz bayonets. The scabbard is of the fourth ersatz type documented by Carter and still has some traces of the original feldgrau (field gray) paint. Brass was in short supply and was too soft to hold up in field use, so very few of these bayonets were made and survived the War. |
12.125 | 308 | 17.125 | 435 | .680 | 17.3 | Blade Spine: Fraktur proofmark |
Carter EB28 Ottobre #25441 |
Turkish-shortened German ersatz bayonet.
Distinguishing characteristics include: a pressed steel hilt with crosswise clean-out hole; large pommel beak; unfullered, German-made blade, shortened; and two-piece brazed crosspiece. Original muzzle ears enabling use with the Gewehr 88 Commission Rifle were removed, allowing use only with the 8 mm. Mauser Gewehr 98. Scabbard is a typical Turkish scabbard with an oval frog stud. |
9.875 | 251 | 14.625 | 371 | n/a | None. | ||
Carter EB34 Ottobre #26021 |
Turkish-shortened German ersatz bayonet.
Distinguishing characteristics include: one-piece pressed hilt folded downward over the tang and pommel block; rounded pommel beak; unfullered, German-made blade, shortened; and, one piece stamped crosspiece with two-stage muzzle ears cocked rearward. Although the trademark is no longer visible, the scabbard is a shortened pressed steel German ersatz scabbard made by the firm of Friedrich August Göbel, in Solingen. The two-step muzzle ring allows fitment on both the 8 mm. Mauser Gewehr 98 and earlier 8 mm. Gewehr 88 (Commission Rifle). The muzzle-ring diameter listed is for the upper step. Lower step diameter is 0.545 in. (13.8 mm.). |
9.625 | 244 | 14.625 | 371 | .690 | 17.5 | Spine: Fraktur proofmark
Crosspiece: "4327" |
|
Carter EB48 Ottobre #33021 |
Turkish-shortened German ersatz bayonet.
Distinguishing characteristics include: stamped smooth steel grips with an irregularly shaped depressed groove in each side; the grips are affixed over the tang by three dome-headed rivets; rounded pommel beak; unfullered, German-made blade, shortened; and stamped crosspiece with a rearward swept quillon. Original muzzle ears enabling use with the Gewehr 88 Commission Rifle were removed, allowing use only with the 8 mm. Mauser Gewehr 98. Scabbard is a typical Turkish scabbard with an oval frog stud. |
9.875 | 251 | 14.50 | 368 | n/a | Crosspiece: "344?7"
Grip: "4560" Blade: Fraktur proofmark |
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Altered Belgian M1882 Garde Civique (EB 90) | German Ersatz conversion of the T-back Belgian M1882 Garde Civique sword bayonet for use with the 8 mm. Gewehr 98.
Carter classified this Ersatz type as EB 90 in his writings. Alterations were extensive, including: removal of the muzzle ring, lengthening the mortise by 10 mm., grinding-flush the forward grip rivet, drilling the hilt to create a T-O slot for the Gewehr 98 cleaning rod, and relocating the press stud to the right side of the pommel. The original Belgian markings are still present. The serial number with an X on the crosspiece indicates that the bayonet was formerly used by one of the Garde Civique units from the region around the city of Ghent. German markings observed on this example are “Deutsch” stamped on the upper tang and a proofmark on the pommel end. The Garde Civique was a paramilitary force under the civil government (unlike the Gendarmerie, which was under military control). When the Germans invaded in 1914, the Belgians “mobilized” the Garde Civique designating them noncombatant support troops. The Germans regarded them as unlawful combatants and demanded their disbandment. As reports of mass-executions of Belgian & French civilians became known, King Albert dissolved the Garde Civique and drafted members fit for military service into the Belgian Army. (Germany’s own records would later be shown to document over 5,500 civilians executed by German forces in just 3 months between August and November 1914.) |
20.50 | 521 | 25.75 | 654 | n/a | Blade (spine): "LD" and "s" inside diamond.
Crosspiece (left): "1890 X" Crosspiece (right): "22847" Crosspiece (ball finial): indistinct proofmarks on both sides Upper Tang: "Deutsch" Pommel (end): German proofmark
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Altered French M1874 (EB 116) | German Ersatz conversion of the T-back French M1874 sword bayonet for use with the 8 mm. Gewehr 88 (Commission Rifle)..
Carter classified this Ersatz type as EB 116 in his writings. Alterations include milling of the M1874's distinctive brass pommel hump flat, milling away the muzzle ring adjustment screw, and milling away part of the muzzle ring to provide the added length needed to accommodate the M1888 barrel jacket. These alterations are shown in this comparison image. All of the original French markings are present. No German markings observed on this example.
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20.625 | 524 | 25.375 | 645 | .700 | 17.8 | Blade (spine): "Mre d' Armes de St. Etienne 9bre 1875"
Ricasso: " two Circle-M inspection marks Crosspiece (left): "F 95946" and inspection marks Crosspiece (front): "13" "R" and illegible inspection mark |
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Click on the image to view information and additional images on the Siam Page. |
Siamese Double Edged Knife Bayonet (EB 149) | Knife bayonet for use with the 11 mm. Mauser Gewehr 71 and the 8 mm. Gewehr 88 (Commission Rifle).
These bayonets represent an enigma. Little is known about the origin and use of these double-edged bayonets. The “W” on the blade spine is believed to identify the maker as Weyersberg, Kirschbaum & Co. Many books refer to these as the M1907, probably due to the bayonet's resemblance to the Chinese M1907 bayonet. However, Antwerp, Belgium arms dealer Jules Pire & Co. listed these in his 1905 catalog. Although it is unclear when these were manufactured, a quantity were still in Germany when the First World War began in 1914. These were issued to Landsturm troops along with the Gewehr 88 and also as sidearms to machine gun crews. The example pictured at left was not used by Germany, but made it to Siam where the original grips were eventually replaced with grips made from a local hardwood. |
9.875 | 251 | 14.75 | 375 | .690 | 17.5 | |
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© Ralph E. Cobb 2010 All Rights Reserved | Top |
Several Ersatz Bayonet reference works do exist. The first, published in 1976, is Anthony Carter's Ersatz Bayonets 1. Carter documented 79 German ersatz variations and a dozen or so non-German ersatz types. He assigned each a number, beginning with #1. The "Carter Numbering System" remains the universal classification system for Ersatz Bayonets. In 1992, Carter published a more expansive reference as Volume III of his German Bayonets series. In 2010, Roy Williams published, The Collectors Book of German Bayonets 1680-1945 Part Two, which focused on Ersatz Bayonets, expanding on Carter's prior works.
Christian Méry published German Ersatz Bayonets During World War One, the most recent English edition of which was published in 2019. This is a comprehensive reference and contains many previously unpublished images of Ersatz Bayonets in wear. Carter's and William's books are out of print and hard to find. However, Christian Méry's book is available from the author at http://editionsdubrevail.com.
During the 1990s, the importation of massive quantities of ersatz bayonets from Turkey provided a fertile ground for additional research and documentation. Bayonet dealer/collector, Dennis Ottobre, rose to the challenge, publishing his CD-ROM book Observations on Turkish Bayonets in 2002. Hundreds of ersatz variations were documented, some of German origin and some indigenous to Turkey. The Carter Numbering System could not be expanded to account for the wide variety of Turkish variations, so gave rise to the more sophisticated Ottobre Classification System. In the Ottobre System, each bayonet is assigned a 4 or 5 digit classification number, where each digit identifies a specific characteristic, rather than simply assigning a number to each bayonet. Sometimes the number "47" will be appended as a prefix and simply denotes chapter 47 of the book, which is dedicated to the ersatz bayonets.
The Ottobre book is available insanely inexpensively from the author at www.ebayonet.com. If you don't already own a copy, what are you waiting for?
These few ersatz examples that I possess are all of German origin, although some have Turkish-shortened blades. German-made ersatz bayonet blades typically have a single Fraktur inspection marking on the ricasso or blade spine.
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