Enfield Socket Bayonet identification

[Richard Schimenti]

I have a original Enfield socket bayonet and scabbard. Any help with identification would be grreatly appreciated.

the blade is 17.5" and at the base of the blade is makred E with a crown underneath. Under the E is the number 30

the socket has some traces of blue left. The marks under the ring is 38 and then either 1 or I 80 under the number 30

the scabbard is marked just by the frog with a possible arrowhead or inverted V with WD stamped under it, then a crown and under the crown the letter B and under the B the number 18

Any help in identification would be greatly appreciated.

Rich Schimenti
2nd Kentucky Cav.

[Russ Whitaker]

I dont have it in front of me, but there is a website that explains what the numbers mean, and will also tell you what regiment the bayonet came from ( it's a British bayonet) Try your internet sarch on British Enfield bayonet id.

[Russ Whitaker]

I think this is the website, http://www.regiments.org/tradition/weapons.htm scrowl down to Edged weapons written by Bryan Brown.

[Richard Schimenti]

Dear Russ, thanks for taking the time to answer. I had found that page in my search and none of the markings on the bayonet are listed on that information page.

[Jim Mayo]

http://www.radix.net/~bbrown/brit_bayo.html

The above link will give you the broad arrow and WD marking found on your scabbard along with some representative markings which may not be exactly the same as on your bayonet. These markings in short, say that your scabbard was not used in the US Civil War. The WD is the English War Dept. acceptance marking. Unless new information has come to light, arms and accrouterments with this marking were not shipped to the American colonies. Sets like this have been flowing over the border from Canada for years. The other numbers could stand for rack numbers, regiments and companies or whatever. Many of the English arms were shipped all over the world for use in the English colonies. Most every organization who possessed one of these items would mark it for inventory or other purposes with their own mark.

P-53 bayonets were issued with the sockets blued and the blades bright which is seldom replicated in the reenacting community.

You can see one near the bottom of this page. It also has the WD and arrow on the scabbard.
http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/j_mayo/scabbard.html

[Enfield577]

Rich,

I second Jim's opinion as to probable non-use in the WBTS. Same goes for the bayonet - the E/Crown/30 is an RSAF-Enfield inspector's mark, and RSAF (Royal Small Arms Factory - the Government manufacturer) products were not sold to either side. FWIW, this scabbard was made (or at least inspected) in Birmingham, so it is not a match to the bayonet (a matching scabbard would also have RSAF inspection markings), but that's hard to find these days.

The other numbers on the bayonet are likely unit and rack numbers, as Jim noted, but I'm no expert at interpreting these British markings ... they could also be Colonial markings of some sort.

Geoff Walden