Siamese Type 45 (1903) bayonet to fit the 8mm type 45 rifle.
£175
Siamese Type 45 (1903) bayonet to fit the 8mm type 45 rifle. Hilt with release button to the right side has the second pattern washer and rivet retained wooden scales. Fullered single edged blade struck to the rear right with Siamese characters which translate as RS 121 or Rattanakosin Sok 121, the 121st year of the Rattanakosin era or 1903 by the western calendar. In its correct blued steel scabbard which has a cut out to the top of the locket reinforce which allows the bayonet to be fitted to the rifle with the scabbard on if required in service. Made by Japan at the Tokyo Imperial arsenal for the Siamese government between 1903 and 1908 these are typical Mauser pattern bayonets being well balanced and suited to use both when fitted to the rifle and when used on its own as a fighting knife. In good condition with good grip scales, working release catch in a good scabbard retaining much original finish. A good example of a scarce pre WW1 bayonet manufactured in imperial Japan for one of her neighbours with whom she was at the time friendly but later during WW2 to become the victim of a Japanese invasion when these bayonets would have been used in the failed attempt to drive back the advancing Japanese in December 1941.
…................£175