Original Item: Only One Available. This is an excellent, lightly used example of a U.S. M3 bayonet scabbard intended for the long 16-inch M1905-pattern bayonet used with both the M1903 Springfield and M1 Garand rifles. Although the scabbard is of early postwar, Korean War-era production, it was made to the familiar M3 pattern developed during WWII and is ideally suited for displaying an original full-length M1905 or wartime M1905/M1942 bayonet.

The M1 Garand was designed to accept the same basic bayonet pattern already in service with the M1903 Springfield rifle. As a result, existing M1905 bayonets were used with the Garand when the United States entered WWII. To meet rapidly expanding wartime requirements, production of the long-bladed bayonet resumed in 1942. These newly manufactured examples retained the approximately 16-inch blade of the M1905 but substituted molded plastic grips for the earlier walnut type. Although the U.S. Army continued to regard them as M1905 bayonets, collectors commonly refer to this 1942-1943 production variation as the M1942 bayonet.

This example has the correct parkerized steel throat prominently marked U.S. above the familiar “Flaming Bomb” U.S. Ordnance insignia. Of particular interest is the VP/4 marking found on the underside of the throat plate. Rather than the earlier Beckwith-associated markings encountered on WWII-production examples, this Victory Plastics logo and production number identify the scabbard with the additional M3 production undertaken by Victory Plastics during the early 1950s, generally associated with the Korean War period. Victory Plastics had also manufactured military scabbards during WWII as part of the Beckwith manufacturing organization, making these later pieces a direct continuation of the wartime design.

Condition is great overall. The parkerized finish on the steel throat remains intact, with some old storage residue visible around the metal components. The molded body is particularly nice, retaining nearly all of its original olive drab green finish with only minor handling and storage wear.

This listing is for the M3 scabbard only. No bayonet is included.