M9 bayonet

M9 Bayonet

A U.S. military M9 Bayonet affixed to an M4 carbine.
Type Bayonet
Place of origin San Diego, California, United States
Service history
In service 1986–present
Wars
Production history
Designer Charles A. "Mickey" Finn
Designed 1986
Manufacturer Phrobis, Buck Knives, LanCay, and Ontario
Produced 1986–present
Number built 405,000+
Specifications
Length 12 in (30 cm)
Blade length 7 in (18 cm)
Blade type Clip Point

The M9 Bayonet is a multi-purpose knife and bayonet officially adopted in 1986 by the United States. It has a 7-inch (18 cm) blade and is issued with a sheath designed to double as a wire cutter.

History

M9 Bayonet coupled with a detached sheath can be used as an effective wire cutting tool

The M9 bayonet was designed and developed by Charles A. "Mickey" Finn at his R&D company, Qual-A-Tec. It is a refined copy of the Russian AKM Type I bayonet. He later produced it under the Phrobis III name, filling a military contract for 325,000 units. Buck Knives was contracted to make 300,000 units and sold a commercial version under their own name. Finn's designs proved extremely popular, and were widely counterfeited and sold illegally by other makers. In 1986, Finn received U.S. Patent 4,622,707, however they continued to flow unchecked into the United States from Asia and Mexico, cutting into legitimate sales.

After the Phrobis III bayonet contract was completed, rights to the M9 reverted to the United States Army and there were many subsequent versions from other companies. It is issued by the armed forces of the U.S. and other countries, and has also been sold commercially in various versions.

Some production runs of the M9 have a fuller and some do not, depending upon which contractor manufactured that batch and what the military specs were at the time. The M9 Bayonet partially replaced the older M7 Bayonet, introduced in 1964. Although it has been claimed that the M9 may be more prone to breakage than the older M7, the M9 bayonet has a 20% thicker blade and tang (0.235" vs. 0.195") and a 75% greater cross-sectional area of steel in the blade than the M7.

Variants

The M11 bayonet, or M11 EOD is a version of the M9 specialized for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD). It has some extra features, such as a hammer pommel, but uses the same blade and sheath as the M9.

Makes

M9 Bayonet and M10 Scabbard "product improved" sheath

There have been four main makes of M9s: Phrobis, Buck (subcontracted from Phrobis during the original Army contract), LanCay, and Ontario. Starting in 1987, Phrobis subcontracted Buck, finishing up in 1989. It was around this time that Buck sold commercial M9s as well, which it did up to 1997.

LanCay got its first contract in March 1992 (taking over production from Buck) for 30 (later 50) thousand knives (with General Cutlery as a subcontractor); in 1994, there was another contract issued for about 100,000 improved M9 models. In 1999, a contract for 25,000 knives was split between LanCay and Ontario (12,500 each). Ontario Knife Company also participated in later contracts, and is one of the current (as of 2005) contractors for producing them. These can be identified by the blades, which are marked "M-9 / ONTARIO / KNIFE CO / USA".

Comparison

The M7 bayonet, introduced in 1964, was used as a bayonet on the M16 rifle and as an edged melee weapon. The M9 multipurpose bayonet system is used as a bayonet on the M16 series rifle, on the M4 series carbine, as an edged melee weapon, as a general field and utility knife, as a wire cutter when used on the sheath, and as a saw. The M9 also fits the Mossberg 590 Special Purpose shotgun.

DesignationM7M9
Entered Army Service: 19651987
Blade length:6.5 in7 in
Total length:11.75 in12 in

Buck Knives production

An overview of M9 types made by Buck Knives, one of the manufacturers of M9 bayonets. The 5000 for the U.S. Marines are included under the U.S.Army numbers in this listing.

Type Buck Part# Quantity
US Army0188-00-0330,254
Australian 0188-A1-0 20,050
Abu Dhabi 0188-AD-0 1,500
Commercial (black) 0188-BK-0 14,213
Diemaco 0188-DM-0 8,681
Marine Prototype 0188-MC-0 350
Commercial (green) 0188-CB-0 28,238
Field Knife (Japan I) 0188-J1-0 1,956
Field Knife (Japan II) 0188-J2-0 504
Total: 405,746

Users

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/16/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.