Serbia & Yugoslavia M1899 Bayonet

[Brian Keith]

I recently found this bayonet neglected in a basement and was able to purchase it. It has German style leather frog that I find no markings on. The blade is slightly scarred from bench grinder abuse. It is an attractive blade, though it is only in fair condition. Heaven only knows what this guy has seen and done over the years. My guess is that it was a US GI Souvenir from WW II. The following is what I discovered when I started doing some research on it.

According to noted Yugoslavian weapons expert Branko Bogdanovic, M1899 Knife Bayonets were made:

—1899–1906 by Simpson & Co. of Suhl, Germany;

—1907–1910 by Oesterreichsche Waffenfabrik-Gesellschaft, Steyr, Austria; and,

— 1910–1915 by the Fayette R. Plumb Co. of St. Louis, MO.

Plumb’s bayonets made for Serbia were marked with "Plumb" and the year of mfr. on the ricasso. However, additional bayonets were made in 1915 by Plumb for commercial sale, using the leftover parts from the Serbian contract. The absence of any markings identifies this example as probably a contract overrun piece that Plumb made for commercial sale.

The Serbian M1899 bayonet is one of the few double-edged Mauser bayonets. The Serbian M1899 rifles were almost identical to the Chilean M1895 Mauser rifle, which was chambered for the 7 x 57 mm. cartridge. Serbia went for this design, because DWM already had the production line in operation and could begin delivering rifles right away. That's how the Serbs ended up using the 7 mm. cartridge, which was not at all the norm on the European Continent. Apparently this bayonet would fit the M1899, M1899/07 & M1910 Mauser rifles.

Thanks for looking and in advance for any other information and/or corrections!

BKW