GMS purchased the Carl Eickhorn factory and squirrel trademark following Eickhorn's bankruptcy in 1975. This G3 example was made by Gesellschaft für Metallverarbeitung mbH & Co. M1910 wire belt hanger.īlade: Colt 'rampant horse' logo, followed by "Colt's 62316," Hartford, Conn USA", Made in W. M8A1" and the webbing would have included the U.S. The original scabbard for the 1975/76 Colt-contract M7 bayonet, would have been similar to the scabbard pictured with the M7 bayonet below, except the scabbard throat would have been marked "U.S. The scabbard pictured at left is a 1990s vintage AES scabbard. Carl Eickhorn's total 1970s production of Colt M7 bayonets was approximately 80,000, only a portion of which had the abbreviated crosspiece, making this a fairly scarce piece.
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Cole, a letter from Colt, dated February 2, 1979, indicated these M7 bayonets with the abbreviated crosspiece were the first M7 production by Carl Eickhorn Waffenfabrik AG of Solingen, manufactured 1975/76 under license from Colt. On the G3, the bayonet is fixed inverted, above the barrel, and the typical M7 lower crosspiece would block the sight picture if not eliminated.Īccording author/researcher, the late M.H. NATO caliber G3 assault rifle, in addition to the 5.56 mm. This was done to allow use on the 7.62 mm. M7 bayonet-knife, with no lower crosspiece. The G3 rifle had a very long service life in Germany, entering service with the West German Bundeswehr in 1959 and serving until adoption of the H & K G36 rifle in 1997.Īn unusual variation of the U.S. The web frog terminates in a belt loop, rather than the M1910 wire hanger typical of U.S. M8A1, but with a woodgrain colored plastic body. The press catch is at the 9 O'clock position. The blade is patterned after the U.S. M4 bayonet-knife. However, in practice, the Bundeswehr did not issue bayonets to troops. H & K's G3 bayonet was widely adopted and became the G3 bayonet adopted by the German Bundeswehr (Federal Armed Forces). This G3 bayonet was H & K's design, dating from 1959 when H & K began producing G3 rifles.
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Evans published an excellent and comprehensive article on G3 bayonets that is available for download at no cost. In 2009, British bayonet historian R.D.C. I suspect that this bayonet was associated with one of the 1961-62 G3 shipments to Burma and later made its way across the border into Thailand. In advance of their beginning domestic production, Burma received 10,000 G3 rifles from Germany in 1961 and another 12,000 from Rheinmetall in 1962. The West German government granted Burma a license to manufacture the G3 in 1960, in a move to forestall Burma aligning with communist East Germany. The person from whom I obtained this example indicated that he had purchased it in Thailand many years ago. The hit strap is missing on this example. It has a broad plain crosspiece secured by two domed rivets. The press catch is at the 9 O'clock position (when viewed from the rear). The red-brown plastic grip has 6 deep grooves. The Rheinmetall G3 bayonet differs from the more common H & K G3 bayonet in having a bright, double-edged blade that is 2.875 in.
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This example also has a serial number on the flashguard, indicating that it was actually issued. The Rheinmetall trademark is sometimes mistaken for that of Richard A. This example carries both the Eickhorn squirrel and Rheinmetall diamond-circle trademarks on the ricasso. The bayonets were manufactured by Carl Eickhorn Waffenfabrik AG of Solingen. This is the bayonet designed by Rheinmetall AG of Dusseldorf when they began G3 production in 1959.