No.4 MKII Spike Bayonet, Long Branch

[Anderson]

A No.4 MkII bayonet for the No.4 Mk I rifle. This one is Canadian made at Long Branch, note the overlapping "LB" mark that indicates it was made 1942-44. There is no Canadian Government acceptance mark, so this one probably was exported to Great Britain and saw service with British forces.
The electropencil "18456" mark indicates issued with a particular rifle, and was possibly marked at ROF Fazakerley, which I understand did all the refurbishment of the No.4 MkI rifles in the UK. There is actually another number barely visible above the "No 4 MK II" mark, and it's appears to be "14411" indicating an earlier rifle it was issued with. This bayonet ended up in New Zealand and could have been with the 50,000 No 4 MKII rifles purchased by the NZ Government in Italy in late 1945.
There also appears to be an inspector mark "3" on the reverse side, or is it an "F"? This Long Branch bayonet is really well finished, perhaps an early one.
Photo with 1942 Long Branch rifle also NZ marked.

[Garandy]

I was in Israel last year and in the flea market found a Singer No.4Mk1 cruciform spike I have on my LB No4Mk1*, and it came with the different Savage made US scabbard!

[Anderson]

A good find!

[Kilian]

Many collectors find this an uninteresting and ugly bayonet. I however do like it, because it nicely shows the process of simplification and cost reduction that the British undertook during WW2. Graham Priest managed to write a 3cm thick book in A4 format on the subject, "The Spirit of the Pike". A book I can recommend.

Although Long Branch is one of the manufacturers most commonly found, there are some variations in markings that I find interesting.

Here's one with Canadian serial number and electric pencil Canadian acceptance.

[Kilian]

There are also two different ways of marking the No4 MkII, different spacing of the II.

During the war, the dies wore out and the shoulder where the blade meets the socket became more bulgy. So the wider spacing is later production.

[Kilian]

Production at Long Branch ceased when WW2 ended. For some reason they restarted production during the Korean War and manufactured a small series (apparently around 5000). These were marked with an intertwined C and A, for Canadian Arsenals, not LB. And they appear to have used new or reworked dies.