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For your consideration, you are viewing a piece of Indian Military History, this is WWII vintage NO. I MKIII* bayonet, manufactured by NWR, complete with Scabbard, these Indian manufactured bayonets, were made with a 12-inch unfullered blade in the workshops of the North West Railways. were designed for use with the .303 calibre Short, Magazine Lee-Enfield No. I Mk. III (SMLE) rifle. The No. I Mk. III rifle was predominately used by India during both Wars. The Indian government continued manufacturing No. I Mk. III rifles chambered for the 7.62 mm NATO cartridge well into the 1970s. During WWII, most of India's Railway shops were converted to produce war materiel. The famous Bengal & North West Railways (NWR) began in the early 1880s up until 1943 when the company was taken over by the Indian Government. The NWR carried passengers, freight and steamship mail from Delhi and up to the northern frontier of British India and further to Peshawar, in Pakistan. This example was newly made in 1943 at the North West Factory and it is not a cutdown conversion. India used the British bayonet designation, Pattern 1907 or P07, from 1911 until 1926 when it shortened and re-designated it as the No. I Mk. I. India preferred the shorter British P1903 bayonet over the Longer P07 and/or the very short No 4 Spike, so they delayed production of the Pattern 1907 bayonets until 1913 when the Crown forced its adoption for standardization purposes. From 1941, India began cutting down Pattern 1907 bayonets to 12.2 in (310 mm) and grinding a point into the remaining blade, creating the India Patterns.

• No. 1 Mk. I*, (No false edge blade tip)
• No. 1 Mk. I** is almost identical except a false blade 2 in (51 mm) long is ground into the top of the blade, both were recognizable as fuller than now ran the length of the blade.
• No. 1 Mk. II and the India Pattern No. 1 Mk. II* were newly manufactured versions with 12.2-inch blades that had no fuller, the latter having a false blade on the top side, both retained the Pattern 1907 hilt and grip.
• No. 1 Mk. III and the India Pattern No. 1 Mk. III* was similar to the No. 1 Mk. II and No. 1 Mk. II* except they had crude squared pommels, and rectangular grips and were finished with black paint.

This bayonet is made from a one-piece steel blade and tang, it has a crude squared pommel and a deep and broad T-shaped attachment slot. A small circular cleaning hole runs transversely through the pommel at the end of the attachment slot. A round press stud, on the left side, operates a locking catch via an internal coiled spring, it has 2 piece-rectangular wooden grips secured to the tang by 2 screw bolts with slotted nuts. The crossguard and pommel are made from wrought iron or mild steel, lower guard is tapered, and straight with a rounded end. The upper guard forms into a full muzzle ring. The blade is single-edged with no fuller and a false edge prow point on the top and has been painted black. # The makers and inspection marks are:

• RICASSO: "II*" over "N.W.R." over "44" REVERSE: "SA" over "?"
• SCABBARD: THROAT & DRAG: "C" - "Broad arrow"-"?"

CONDITION:

This WW2 bayonet is from circa 1944 and is in good condition for its age and use in warfare. The 2 piece rectangular wood grips fit tightly to the tang, the wood condition is complete with no missing pieces, and some indent and scuff marks from use, and the release/lock button is in working order. The 30.6 cm blade has a painted black finish with no stain or pitting, with only faint wear to the finish. The edge is not sharp and has no dings. The remaining metal on the cross-guards and pommels' blued finish is worn with a little scuff and normal marks. the release/lock button is in working order.  The scabbard is in very good condition, the metal mounts are fixed firmly, with a worn blued finish, some scratch/scuff marks and fleabite dents, the leather is supple, the stitching is tight and unbroken and fits tightly together with the bayonet. # Please note that the photographs form part of the description; Super-sized photos are available for viewing in the eBay gallery to show the finer details and conditions.

• Photos do not show the actual size so please read the description page for the exact measurements.
• Colours may display differently depending on your computer and settings.
• The item in the photos is the one that you will receive.
• The lead photo has had the background removed with Photoshop, but all the original untouched photos are included in the listing for viewing.
• Any errors will be accidental and not intentional or purposely misleading.