british markings on french combat knife ?

[Reibert]

Hi, mates !

I do have a question regarding the marking upon the pommel of an Poignard U.S.13 Légion Etrangère, (a shortened Pattern 1913 bayonet).

Is the marking:
84PB
73

british, or, french ? ...

Thx. in advance,
R.

P.S.:
BTW, such bayonets/combat "knives" were in use not only in the LE, also, in other french units !

P.P.S.:
It seems, the digit 8 is hallmarked upside down ...

[Reibert]

really, nobody ? ...

[AndyB]

You should attach it on british forum.

[Reibert]

These combat knives are very interesting to me because they have been in military use for a very long time.
In Indochina it was already dangling from the belts of members of the Légion étrangère, also in conflicts in Africa, for example in Zaire in 1978, (Kolwezi), and even in the war in Bosnia in the 1990s.

These are bayonets P1913 and P1917 shortened in France.

Here you will find differently ground blades and therefore also different blade lengths.

Here are the dimensions of such a French combat knife, which I received yesterday.
The really "short" blade is striking.
I have several such combat knives in my collection, where the blade has not been shortened and ground down so much.

Blade length: 187mm
Lenght of the hilt: 122mm
Total length: 309mm
Blade width: 24mm
Blade thickness: 7mm

[Reibert]

The markings:

[Reibert]

Some images of the Poignard U.S.17 "LEGION" i found in the www.

[Reibert]

A few days ago a collector friend emailed me these pictures of a French uniform and combat knife.

[Alex W]

I can't help with the markings but I find these really interesting. Obviously a cost cutting exercise to buy bayonets and rework to fighting knives but I can't imagine they were fit for purpose. Ergonomics wouldn't have been great and from memory the ones I've seen haven't had a sharpened blade, just a pointy tip for stabbing.

[Reibert]

Received this Poignard US 17 Légion today.

I bought this in Denmark, but I think that this combat knife originally came from the Frankonia company's former stocks and was put on the market.
But I also read that there were stocks of these knives on the surplus market in the States.

You can still see the adhesive residue from the small price tag on the belt loop on the back.
Adhesive residue can be seen on the front of the top mount, but in this case it could well be a storage label/sticker from an armory of a French unit.

The knife shows signs of wear.

The combat knife was made from a U.S. M1917 bayonet, originally manufactured at Winchester Repeating Arms Co New Haven, CT

Interestingly, the pommel does not have a cleaning hole.

As already mentioned, this combat knife was used by various French units from the Indochina War through to the Lebanon conflict in 1982/83 (primarily by airborne units), and in Bosnia in 1993 by members of the Légion étrangère.
Also in Kolwezi, (Zaire), 1978 and in the Algerian War (1954-62).

Stamping on the ricasso of the blade on the inside:
1918
4-17
W

Stamping on the ricasso of the blade on the outside:
various inspection and control stamps

The topmount is on the back and the chape on the front, stamped with the letters
GF in oval.

The blade length here: 185 mm
Total length: 307mm

[Reibert]

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