how was the m9 bayonet carried? - Page 2

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - how was the m9 bayonet carried? (Page 2 of 3)

Posted: 6/22/2018 6:29:34 PM EDT

[#1]

What an M9 bayonet may look like.

Posted: 6/22/2018 6:30:29 PM EDT

[#2]

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In Berlin we used them and they were fracking razor sharp. Here I am at C P Charlie on October 27, 1961. You can see mine on my left side being hidden partially by a my Protective Mask. These blades were so sharp that one f my buddies grabbed his when it was on his rifle at the Queens Birthday parade. He grabbed the blade and it cut a gash the entire length of his palm, and deep. In SE/Asia they were darn useful in heavy follage. However in all the years I saw several B Gys sliced pretty good in Riot Control. I saw one get used in combat to stop an attacker who was close and it stuck pretty deep in his shoulder.
All in all it was mostly used as a knife to slice open ration boxes.
https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/43811/Dan_at_CP_Charlie_Oct_27_1961-584305.JPG

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thanks for sharing! i have been to that same exact spot just days ago!

Posted: 6/22/2018 6:31:34 PM EDT

[#3]

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The actual event where they fixed bayonets and advanced did not result in any significant hand-to-hand combat. IIRC, they did it to recover the guys from the missing platoon at night. The charge at the end of the movie never happened. I think the last large-scale bayonet assault by the U.S. Army occurred in Korea by Colonel (then-Captain) Millet. As I recall it, his company was almost completely out of ammo. He and his company assaulted enemy positions on a hill using bayonets and some hand grenades, resulting in the capture of the hill. He was decorated with the Medal of Honor for it. They used Garands with the 16" M1905 bayonets, which definitely gives a man some reach. Those things were meant to double as short swords.

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I saw several of them broken at bayo training...did not intstill confidence in that blade whatsoever.
We were issued the M9 but they never left supply.

The m9 is considerably thicker than the m7, the m7 feels cheap and thin compared to the m9. Wonder how that bayonet charge in We Were Soldiers looked like irl.

The actual event where they fixed bayonets and advanced did not result in any significant hand-to-hand combat. IIRC, they did it to recover the guys from the missing platoon at night. The charge at the end of the movie never happened. I think the last large-scale bayonet assault by the U.S. Army occurred in Korea by Colonel (then-Captain) Millet. As I recall it, his company was almost completely out of ammo. He and his company assaulted enemy positions on a hill using bayonets and some hand grenades, resulting in the capture of the hill. He was decorated with the Medal of Honor for it. They used Garands with the 16" M1905 bayonets, which definitely gives a man some reach. Those things were meant to double as short swords.

The M1905 bayonet and its 16" blade were superseded in WW2 (about 1943) by the M1 bayonet with a 10" blade. 16" bayonets were even recalled to be cut down so the steel could be recycled, which is called the M1905E1 by collectors, though I doubt it was an official designation--more likely the Army would simply have reclassified them to M1 Bayonet, since they were functionally identical at that point.

In other words, it's far more likely that Capt. Millet's company used 10" M1 bayonets.

Posted: 6/22/2018 7:55:22 PM EDT

[#4]

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I couple guys on my first deployment put them on their IBAs. I kept mine in my tough box.

Supply never even issued them out on subsequent deployments.

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Wore mine center left on my IBA in 03', under the chest strap for my LBV. I kept the LBV cinched down to the IBA, with the belt straps going through the bottom row of molle. It would've been a lifetime milestone if I had the opportunity to fix bayonet and run someone through, but the most action we had that year was shooting dogs and throwing piss bottles at people.

Posted: 6/22/2018 8:03:02 PM EDT

[#5]

It has been 28 years, so I have no idea how I carried it during Gulf War 1. In Iraq it stayed in my duffle bag, because by that time I was a grey haired staff officer making power point slides. I brought it over just so I would have one from each war and therefore one that I "carried in the war" to give to each of my two sons.

Posted: 6/22/2018 9:04:15 PM EDT

[#6]

I've never served and therefore never carried one on duty, but I came in just to say that over 25 years ago, my then girlfriend found an an early mint Buck M9 bayonet at a surplus store and bought it for me.

That was the first gift my now wife ever gave to me, and I love it dearly. One of the few things I can promise I'll never part with.

I've really never used it for anything though, the blade is a really strange shape to be a useful knife, although it is razor sharp. It will go on my rifle if FO time ever comes!

Posted: 6/22/2018 9:10:39 PM EDT

[#7]

With this

Attached File

Posted: 6/22/2018 9:16:09 PM EDT

[#8]

I was issued and had to carry a bayonet with the M-203, -249 and -240B.

None would support it's use, but I had to carry it, so I put it on my pistol belt by my butt pack.

Posted: 6/22/2018 9:17:26 PM EDT

[#9]

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https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/285/14E65AB2-BFC1-4E63-8B29-79FEC0C208D6-584304.JPG

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That's not a bayonet. It's the "contract model" of the K-bar USMC fighting knife made by Camillus.

Posted: 6/22/2018 9:18:25 PM EDT

[#10]

I was is the first gulf war. I wore mine on my belt on my right side. I had mine upside down with the handle on the bottom. I don't remember how I set it up though. It was weird tp wearr it that way but had a great snap on it and I didn't lose it. It was easier to pull it out that way to open your MRE lol...

Posted: 6/22/2018 9:24:43 PM EDT

[#11]

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The m9 is weak because of the tang.

https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/170028/880FFC03-C133-4DEC-9537-DD12EBFF2D04-584235.JPG

I believe the m7 has a full tang.

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M7 has the same tang as the M9. I've made several M7s.

Posted: 6/22/2018 9:30:31 PM EDT

[#12]

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By the handle. I tried the blade once and it hurt.

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Were you an Infantryman? How many times did you do that before you learned to stop doing that?

Posted: 6/22/2018 9:33:13 PM EDT

[#13]

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The m9 is considerably thicker than the m7, the m7 feels cheap and thin compared to the m9. Wonder how that bayonet charge in We Were Soldiers looked like irl.

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The M7 was superior to the M9 as an actual bayonet.

Don't get me started on how wrong the M9 is.

Posted: 6/22/2018 9:34:27 PM EDT

[#14]

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On the other hand, the M7's tang is far and away more substantial, and is not a screw-on piece but integral to the blade. Same with the M6, M5, and M4 Bayonets for the M14, M1 Rifle, and M1 Carbine respectively, as well as the M3 Trench Knife. Seems to have been an OK design overall, as long as you kept to thrusting and didn't try to use it as a saber.

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Or a field knife.

Posted: 6/22/2018 10:34:45 PM EDT

[#15]

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Quoted:
The M1905 bayonet and its 16" blade were superseded in WW2 (about 1943) by the M1 bayonet with a 10" blade. 16" bayonets were even recalled to be cut down so the steel could be recycled, which is called the M1905E1 by collectors, though I doubt it was an official designation--more likely the Army would simply have reclassified them to M1 Bayonet, since they were functionally identical at that point.

In other words, it's far more likely that Capt. Millet's company used 10" M1 bayonets.

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Quoted:

Quoted:
I saw several of them broken at bayo training...did not intstill confidence in that blade whatsoever.
We were issued the M9 but they never left supply.

The m9 is considerably thicker than the m7, the m7 feels cheap and thin compared to the m9. Wonder how that bayonet charge in We Were Soldiers looked like irl.

The actual event where they fixed bayonets and advanced did not result in any significant hand-to-hand combat. IIRC, they did it to recover the guys from the missing platoon at night. The charge at the end of the movie never happened. I think the last large-scale bayonet assault by the U.S. Army occurred in Korea by Colonel (then-Captain) Millet. As I recall it, his company was almost completely out of ammo. He and his company assaulted enemy positions on a hill using bayonets and some hand grenades, resulting in the capture of the hill. He was decorated with the Medal of Honor for it. They used Garands with the 16" M1905 bayonets, which definitely gives a man some reach. Those things were meant to double as short swords.

The M1905 bayonet and its 16" blade were superseded in WW2 (about 1943) by the M1 bayonet with a 10" blade. 16" bayonets were even recalled to be cut down so the steel could be recycled, which is called the M1905E1 by collectors, though I doubt it was an official designation--more likely the Army would simply have reclassified them to M1 Bayonet, since they were functionally identical at that point.

In other words, it's far more likely that Capt. Millet's company used 10" M1 bayonets.

Quite possibly. I've only read one account which described them. The only decent artwork I've seen portraying the event showed the same, although artwork involves licence, of course, and can't be used as evidence. The only picture I've found of him armed that looks like it could be from Korea shows what looks like an M-5 bayonet.

Apparently he led two bayonet charges in the same month. The one that got him the MoH resulted in some 40% of enemy casualties recovered by our troops having been caused by bayonet wounds. That's a pretty high percentage for the time period. Not sure if those casualties include those killed by rifle butts or if those are on top of that. From what I recall reading, the enemy outnumbered him, had the high ground, and had machine guns and anti-tank weapons of some sort (explosive, I presume). Dude was a badass.

I almost got the chance to meet him, as one of my buddies (now late buddy) was friends with him, as their families were close. He said that Millett was a pretty hardcore conservative and hated Leftists and left the military because he thought that we basically gave up to the communists or something like that. Three-war veteran. He died before I got the chance to meet him, unfortunately.

Posted: 6/22/2018 10:40:12 PM EDT

[#16]

When issued it was carried in the radio pouch of the large alice pack. Secure but easy to reach for accountability purposes.

Posted: 6/23/2018 1:14:45 AM EDT

[#17]

During my first deployment it was in the bottom of a duffle bag in the conex. On subsequent deployments, it was left stateside.

Posted: 6/23/2018 1:26:49 AM EDT

[#18]

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Ours were never let out of the Arms room.

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FPNI

Posted: 6/23/2018 1:27:44 AM EDT

[#19]

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I was never issued a bayonet when I was in the Army. Whether I was deployed or not.

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We got them in basic, for bayonet training. That was the only time I saw them.

ETA, M7's for our M16A1's

Posted: 6/23/2018 1:44:58 AM EDT

[#20]

You know folks with this Antifa stuff Riot Control is around the corner. Your sharp bayonet will be well appreciated then.

Posted: 6/23/2018 2:17:04 AM EDT

[#21]

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so i assume almost everyone of you had another fixed blade knife on him.. i have never been deployed in a combat zone but i would definitely carry one if i had the possibility to choose.

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I kept a small fixed blade knife hidden within the cummerbund of my PC in a manner that I could pull it quickly. Other than that I kept a multitool.

Posted: 6/23/2018 2:34:27 AM EDT

[#22]

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M7 has the same tang as the M9. I've made several M7s.

https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/78788/180428c-539518.jpg

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Those are beautiful.

OP, I bought my own M7 to take to Iraq, and wore it on my belt til my LTC strongly intimated I leave it in my CHU.
Apparently it was much more dangerous than the loaded M4 I was carrying.

When I was in Kuwait, I suspect I was the only soldier with a bayonet until I bought my NCOIC an OKC.

Posted: 6/23/2018 2:52:33 AM EDT

[#23]

thank you everyone for the replies!

Posted: 6/23/2018 7:28:46 AM EDT

[#24]

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Quoted:
That's not a bayonet. It's the "contract model" of the K-bar USMC fighting knife made by Camillus.

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Quoted:

Quoted:
https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/285/14E65AB2-BFC1-4E63-8B29-79FEC0C208D6-584304.JPG

That's not a bayonet. It's the "contract model" of the K-bar USMC fighting knife made by Camillus.

Yes. Just demonstrating the method of carrying.

Bayonets worked better upside down, because of the retention properties of the sheath.

Posted: 6/23/2018 7:32:56 AM EDT

[#25]

They issued them once while desert training in Yakima Wa. Worn it on our LBE ( web gear ) . WarDawg

Posted: 6/23/2018 9:50:57 AM EDT

[#26]

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The m9 is considerably thicker than the m7, the m7 feels cheap and thin compared to the m9. Wonder how that bayonet charge in We Were Soldiers looked like irl.

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Yet the M7 is a much stronger knife. Take an M9 apart(yes, they're designed to be disassembled) and you'll see why. Tiny little rat tail tang, and it might even be welded on(not one piece).

Posted: 6/23/2018 11:54:07 AM EDT

[#27]

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M7 has the same tang as the M9. I've made several M7s.

https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/78788/180428c-539518.jpg

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Quoted:

The m9 is weak because of the tang.

https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/170028/880FFC03-C133-4DEC-9537-DD12EBFF2D04-584235.JPG

I believe the m7 has a full tang.

M7 has the same tang as the M9. I've made several M7s.

https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/78788/180428c-539518.jpg

That's fucking cool

Posted: 6/23/2018 12:16:53 PM EDT

[#28]

I carried an M7 on the belt attached to my LBV in Iraq. I even stuck some Iraqi shithead in the chest with it once when I was out on a convoy.

Posted: 6/23/2018 12:24:38 PM EDT

[#29]

Apparently Marines carry theirs on the end of their rifles...

Posted: 6/23/2018 12:25:49 PM EDT

[#30]

"Carried" in a foot locker after they were gathered up by the chain of command and not issued out.

Posted: 6/23/2018 12:31:22 PM EDT

[#31]

Apparently, KAC made several of these mounts for service in Iraq and was going to sell them to civs; anyone ever seen one?

Posted: 6/23/2018 12:33:07 PM EDT

[#32]

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"Carried" in a foot locker after they were gathered up by the chain of command and not issued out.

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Posted: 6/23/2018 1:04:39 PM EDT

[#33]

Marines ‘93-‘97. No M9 and no OKC3S

Carried the M7 on a regular basis while in a Security Forces Bn. Stood plenty of posts with fixed bayonets on shotguns.

Typically carried on the web belt (LBVs at that time) in front of the canteen on the left side. Roughly 7 o’clock. I don’t remember if this was SOP or simply personal preference.

Posted: 6/23/2018 7:30:28 PM EDT

[#34]

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Quoted: "Carried" in a foot locker after they were gathered up by the chain of command and not issued out.

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So we could practice "Combatives" and build esprit de corps instead of practicing stabbing a fucker with the stabby thing the taxpayers had already paid for.

Posted: 6/23/2018 7:43:48 PM EDT

[#35]

Wow, guess folks don't want a bayonet until they run out of ammo. I would carry one, never know when it might be needed.

Posted: 6/23/2018 9:28:29 PM EDT

[#36]

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Apparently Marines carry theirs on the end of their rifles...
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/FallujahMaster022.jpg

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Interesting rifles. The look like 20" barrels and fixed stocks but they are flat tops. I did not know something like that was ever issued.

Posted: 6/23/2018 9:30:43 PM EDT

[#37]

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Interesting rifles. The look like 20" barrels and fixed stocks but they are flat tops. I did not know something like that was ever issued.

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M16A4s. The Marines are never satisfied with their rifles.

Posted: 6/23/2018 9:46:24 PM EDT

[#38]

Burried in my D bag.

Posted: 6/23/2018 9:48:20 PM EDT

[#39]

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Upside down on your H-harness with a flare taped to it with 1,000-mile-per-hour tape! Yut!

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Thats old school right there.

Posted: 6/23/2018 10:32:39 PM EDT

[#40]

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Apparently, KAC made several of these mounts for service in Iraq and was going to sell them to civs; anyone ever seen one?
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/537562_10150992395975628_272417324_n.jpg

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That makes a lot of sense to me. I would think it would go thru ribs much better than a vertical blade.

Posted: 6/23/2018 10:42:38 PM EDT

[#41]

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i didn't know there was a link between Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus and american history, cool

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American History. And family History.

i didn't know there was a link between Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus and american history, cool

@ssimo
The Society of the Cincinnati was a hereditary military fraternity for officers which formed after our American Revolution. It was started by General Henry Knox and
General Washington was the first president of the society. It was named after Cincinnatus.

Posted: 6/23/2018 10:44:35 PM EDT

[#42]

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That makes a lot of sense to me. I would think it would go thru ribs much better than a vertical blade.

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Quoted:
Apparently, KAC made several of these mounts for service in Iraq and was going to sell them to civs; anyone ever seen one?
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/537562_10150992395975628_272417324_n.jpg

That makes a lot of sense to me. I would think it would go thru ribs much better than a vertical blade.

Bayonet lug on the side was the predominant way to mount a sword or knife bayonet for a number of decades. In the late-19th century they changed to mounting it underneath for some reason.

Posted: 6/23/2018 10:47:13 PM EDT

[#43]

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Bayonet lug on the side was the predominant way to mount a sword or knife bayonet for a number of decades. In the late-19th century they changed to mounting it underneath for some reason.

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Quoted:

Quoted:
Apparently, KAC made several of these mounts for service in Iraq and was going to sell them to civs; anyone ever seen one?
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/537562_10150992395975628_272417324_n.jpg

That makes a lot of sense to me. I would think it would go thru ribs much better than a vertical blade.

Bayonet lug on the side was the predominant way to mount a sword or knife bayonet for a number of decades. In the late-19th century they changed to mounting it underneath for some reason.

It's interesting that the MARS-L for New Zealand made by LMT features a side mount bayonet lug. What's old is new again!

Posted: 6/23/2018 10:53:30 PM EDT

[#44]

Marine Grunt from '94-'98. When I was made to carry the damn thing it was on my right side of my belt and slightly towards the rear. Not so far that I couldn't sit down.

As a SMAW gunner I wasn't usually issued a rifle but was issued a pistol and a Kabar though I typically carried my own. This was my last one and a half years or so when I was with a regular infantry unit.

ETA: in my time it was the M7...we didn't need no fancy M9

Posted: 6/23/2018 11:07:05 PM EDT

[#45]

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Ours were never let out of the Arms room.

Yup right along with our pro masks. Shit was to easy to loose, we used the masks once a year to test them and the bayous once a year for the retarded division review during all American week.

Posted: 6/23/2018 11:19:52 PM EDT

[#46]

in the 80's +, on the belt, strong side. (M7's on M16's)

later on, Y2k +, I don't remember having been issued a bayonet (M4A1) Everyone had a personal knife.
(maybe we did.. I don't remember it though.. maybe optional?)
that was 12+ years ago now

Posted: 6/23/2018 11:56:06 PM EDT

[#47]

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Quoted: Bayonet lug on the side was the predominant way to mount a sword or knife bayonet for a number of decades. In the late-19th century they changed to mounting it underneath for some reason.

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'cuz the ramrod went away.

Posted: 6/24/2018 12:13:55 AM EDT

[#48]

In the 80s,
We got them when we traded in our A1s for A2s.

They were carried the same as the previous bayonet, off side on the LCE belt.

If you were a 60 gunner, medic, etc and had a pistol,
You typical had a Kabar, Gerber or whatever in that position instead of a bayonet.

We usually pocket carried a Swiss Army knife.
But people started carrying Leathermen tools when they came out instead.

I was introduced to the Lestherman by Russ Eaton.
We were 60 gunners and then team leaders together.
I don’t know where he heard about it.

Ar least that is how things rolled in the jungle fatigue era Ranger Bn.