Original WWII U.S. Navy Mark 1 Plastic Training Bayonet by P.B. Co. with USN Mk1 Scabbard - Unbroken

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very good condition U.S. Navy Mark 1 Plastic Training bayonet for use with the U.S. Navy Mark 1 Dummy Training Rifle, complete with the correct WWII Issue USN Mk1 scabbard. These training rifles were all produced by the Parris-Dunn Corporation of Clarinda, Iowa, who were not set up to manufacture the bayonets.

The bayonet design was reverse-engineered from the M1905 bayonet, and is made entirely of sheet steel and hard, black Bakelite plastic. The bayonet is fragile and could not stand up to rigorous use. Most examples encountered today exhibit breakage, however this one is fully intact, with just a slight bend to the blade. The blade ricasso is marked:

U.S.N.
MARK 1

This example was produced by the Pro-phy-lac-tic Brush Co. of Florence, Massachusetts, a peacetime manufacturer of toothbrushes. It is marked correctly on the ricasso with “PB Co” in fancy script:-

P B Co
NXSO-29524

The "NXSO" number represents the Navy contract number associated with the bayonet’s production.

Examples are also encountered marked "B.M.Co. VP" for the Victory Plastics Division of Beckwith Manufacturing Co. in Dover, New Hampshire, who also manufactured a multitude of scabbards during the war. 300,000 Mark 1 bayonets are believed to have been produced between November 1942 and July 1943, roughly half by each of the two makers.

The original USN Mk1 scabbard is marked USN / MK 1 on the parkerized steel throat, and is in good condition. These scabbards are identical to the US Army M3 scabbard, except for the markings. The B N marking on the underside of the metal throat lip indicates manufacture by Beckwith Manufacturing, who produced a variety of thermoplastic impregnated cotton fabric scabbards during the war. The N is for New England Pressed Steel, who made the steel throats under contract with Beckwith. The parkerized finish on the throat is worn with some corrosion. The scabbard body has no cracks or major chips, with some nicks along the edge.

A very nice example of a very hard to find U.S. Navy training bayonet, complete with the correct scabbard. Ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 16"
Blade Style: Single Edged
Overall length: 20 1/2“
Crossguard: 3 1/2”
Scabbard Length: 17"