View Single Post
  #43  
Old 08-05-2014, 07:28 PM
Nyles Nyles is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 921
Default

Yup, as did the RAF and the Russian air corps - pretty much every allied nation purchased them as aircraft guns, though most never ended up using them as such because the synchroniser gear was introduced before the contracts were filled. The French were the only ones to get into them in a big way as trench weapons (in fact in 1917 they contracted for a bunch capable of full auto fire and mounting bayonets, but I've never seen evidence it was filled). I have heard reference to General Pershing's bodyguards carrying 1907s, though never any hard evidence.



Picked up a neat little plinker, a Harrington & Richardson "Target" Model in .22LR, made between 1925 and 1934. One of their whole series of S&W top-break knock-offs, this is built on their small frame (7 shots in .22 or 5 in .32) with a 6" barrel and extended saw handle grips. I get a kick out of the quotations on the "Target" (right there on the gun!), since the trigger is "awful" and the sights are "borderline unusable" - the rear sight is so small, and the front so narrow, that you can't see either under anything but ideal conditions. No adjustment on either, or course. It's a cool vintage gun in great condition and makes a good plinker, but it was a cheap gun when it was new and sure doesn't eliminate my desire for a Woodsman like Jcordell's.



Also picked up a nice British P53 bayonet with what looks to be a Canadian rack number on the scabbard. The blade has an interesting bend away from the barrel, which is intended to keep you from jabbing your hand when loading a muzzle-loader. Unfortunately 19th century tolerances being what they are it's slightly too tight to fit my Snider - at the time the quartermaster would just have swapped it out for one that did, and chances are it would have fit the next rifle.



Finally I got an M38 Carcano short rifle bayonet - when the original M38 Short Rifle came out in 7.35mm, it was issued with a folding blade bayonet that could be folded on the rifle when not in use (it still came with a scabbard - the logic of the whole setup escapes me). However when they went back to the 6.5mm with the M91/38, they went to a normal fixed blade on the same type bayonet. It's very small, the smallest bayonet in my collection (about the size of a belt knife, which was probably more practical on the quite compact short Carcano anyways). Both are quite rare, as the short rifle was phased out of production entirely by the end of 1941, and the carbines still used the old M91 bayonet.
Reply With Quote