Original Italian M1871/1915 Vetterli Rifle Shortened Bayonet with Scabbard by Turin Arsenal
In stock
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Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very good original Italian M1870 Vetterli sword bayonet that was arsenal-shortened during the First World War period, retaining its original composition grip scales, long external locking spring, and shortened leather scabbard with metal fittings. Originally manufactured with a blade over 20 inches long, this example was subsequently altered to the much handier wartime configuration, with the blade reduced to approximately 9 ½ inches and the original hooked quillon removed.
The original M1870 sword bayonet was adopted for the Italian 10.4mm Vetterli rifle and had a blade approximately 20 ¼ inches long. Large numbers were later shortened when Italy brought older Vetterli rifles back into wartime service, particularly after the rifles were converted to the 6.5mm M1870/87/16 Vetterli-Vitali-Carcano configuration during WWI. Specialist references document shortened examples with blades around 230mm, or roughly 9 inches, very close to the dimensions of this example.
This bayonet retains the long external locking spring and original composition grip scales. Earlier literature sometimes associated the long-spring form without a lower muzzle-ring cutout with an early or circa-1875 variation. More recent specialist research identifies this configuration as the M1870/87 Tipo Regolamentare, or Regulation Type, associated with the later Vetterli-Vitali system after the original rifle’s muzzle guide arrangement had been eliminated.
The brass and steel mounted scabbard was also modified in length to match, though it still has very faint original markings on the leather of the scabbard.
The ricasso of the blade of the bayonet is clearly also stamped CROWN over TA, with the crossguard stamped with serial number DI8408. This denotes manufacture at Turin Arsenal. This should fit any WW1 6.5mm Vetterli rifle of which there are still plenty to be found.
This is a particularly interesting example of the long service life of the Italian Vetterli system, beginning as a full-length M1870 sword bayonet and later being altered for the wartime Vetterli rifles returned to service during the First World War. Its shortened blade, removed quillon, composition grips, long locking spring, arsenal markings, and correspondingly altered scabbard clearly illustrate the extensive reuse and modification of older Italian equipment during the wartime mobilization of 1915-1918.
Dimensions:
Blade length: 9 1/2”
Blade Style: Single Edge with Fuller
Overall length: 14 1/2”
Crossguard: 3 1/4”
Scabbard length: 10 1/2"
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