I would like to thank John P. Sheehan for his permission to use the information he put together on Ersatz Austrian Bayonets along with his photographs to illustrate the information. All of the pictures used on this page are from the "John P. Sheehan Collection" unless other wise noted. The text etc was lifted directly from his posting on the Gunboards Forum with slight reformatting to fit the page seen below, original text is in blue my alterations are in black.
Clicking on any picture will bring up a larger image
MODEL 1867/77 WERNDL
Flat stave type ersatz bayonets
Note the variation that exists among the flat stave and twist style ersatz bayonets. These were produced by dozens, perhaps hundreds of shops.
Corkscrew type ersatz bayonet
This style bayonet was also produced to fit captured Russian M1891 Three-Line rifles and M1870 Berdan II rifles.
The first photo shows the corkscrew type ersatz pictured next to a full length Model 1870 Werndl NCO bayonet and the more common M1870 Werndl cut down NCO bayonet.
This photo shows the same bayonet alongside one of the flat stave pattern ersatz bayonets.
MODEL 1886/90, 1888, 1888/90 AND 1890 INFANTRY RIFLES
Ersatz bayonets for the 88 Mannlicher series of rifles were produced in both flat stave as well as twist blade styles as can be seen in this first photo. The twist blade style are the more commonly encountered of the two. For comparison, a Model 1888 NCO bayonet is shown alongside the unusual ersatz variations.
    
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An interesting variation on the Flat strip ersatz bayonet
this one has a quillion added as seen on other Austrian blades of the period
Tight quillion is similar in shape to that on the 1895 NCO, but is formed from thin rod spot weled ontot eh centre of the flat
Muzzle ring is 19mm for the Werndl rifle
Catch shows cut outs on both sides RCZ collection |
MODEL 1890 MANNLICHER CARBINES
This unusual ersatz socket bayonet was produced for issue with the entire series of Model 1890 Mannlicher carbines. Large quantities were also produced for Bulgaria who had purchased Model 1890 carbines prior to the 1st and 2nd Balkan Wars. The carbine was still in service in both the Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian Armies during WWI.
For comparison, the ersatz socket bayonet is shown next to a regular issue Model 90 bayonet with the 15mm muzzle ring. This bayonet was issued with both the Model 1890 Stutzenkarabiner as well as the Model 1890 Gendarmerie carbine.
MODEL 1895 MANNLICHER INFANTRY RIFLE, STUTZENKARABINER AND KARABINERSTUTZEN
Like the twist blade and flat stave bayonets produced for the 88 Mannlicher series, the same pattern ersatz bayonets were also produced for the Model 1895 series. These are the most commonly encountered Austro-Hungarian ersatz bayonets.
Both the flat stave and twist blade ersatz bayonets occasionally appear with a series of "chevron" markings which appear on the side of the corner of the elbow of the piece which forms the muzzle ring. To date, this code has yet to be deciphered. These chevron markings appear on the entire range of ersatz bayonets, from the Werndl to the Model 88 series as well as on bayonets made for the Model 95.
The occasional ersatz bayonet turns up with a letter marking on the grip stave. Like the chevrons, the meaning of these marks remains unknown.
With more 95s in service than any other rifle, it is not surprising that there were a wider variety of ersatz bayonets produced for the Model 95 than for any other rifle. Here are three additional patterns that are encountered less frequently than the twist blade variety. From top to bottom we have a rare flat stave M95, a twist grip M95 and a German style metal gripped knife-style ersatz bayonet.
      
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Erstaz type for the 1895 Mannlicher rifle. This variant uses a cross guard similar to the 1895 bayonet but much cruder but using the same twin rivet fixing method. The scabbard has the brass frog stud and finial normally found on the Turkish M1917 ersatz. This is not the first of these found in this style of scabbard. Markings on the blade were restricted to two areas of damage from the clamps used to twist the blade. |
CENTRAL POWERS SUPPLIED SMALL ARMS
M13 - Gew 88 in Austro-Hungarian Service
During the WWI, constant shortages were encountered by every combatant nation during the war. In an attempt to help keep her weaker Allies in the war, Germany supplied small arms to Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey at various stages of the war. In the case of Austria-Hungary, this included 75,000 Gew 88 Commission rifles. The Gew 88 in Austro-Hungarian service was known as the Model 13. The standard bayonet supplied by Germany with the Gew 88 was the Model 1871 Hirshfanger, the birds head pommel bayonet that was originally issued with the Model 1871 Jaeger rifle.
Once issued to Austro-Hungarian troops, the supplies of bayonets for the M13 were eventually out of balance. To fill the immediate gap, a flat stave bayonet, very similar to that which was issued with the Werndl, was produced in small numbers. Alas, I have yet to locate one of these bayonets. However, I do have one of a small number of Werndl bayonets, in this case a Model 1867, which were converted for issue with the M13.
The muzzle ring was drilled out and a bushing ring brazed in place to shorten the distance from the pommel to the mounting slot. In order to allow the bayonet lug to engage the locking mechanism, a step was milled in the back of the pommel. While not a true ersatz bayonet in the classic sense, it never the less qualifies as an emergency issue variation. This [particular example has suffered battle damage in that the recurved quillion has literally been ripped from the cross guard, most likely by a shrapnel strike.
The converted bayonet is pictured here next to a standard cut down Model 1867 Werndl bayonet.
CAPTURED AND REISSUED ENEMY SMALL ARMS AND BAYONETS
A combination of localized shortages and the imbalance of small arms and bayonets captured at any given time, lead to the need to develop ersatz bayonets for many of the enemy weapons that were captured during the war and reissued to Austro-Hungarian troops.
Here are two examples of the straight slot ersatz socket bayonet that was developed for issue with the Russian Model 1891 Three-Line rifle. The bayonets are pictured next to an original Russian issue M91 bayonet for comparison. Note the difference in the slot, the configuration of the shank and elbow as well as the shorter over all length. Similar bayonets were produced for the Model 1870 Berdan II and as previously mentioned, the corkscrew style ersatz bayonets were also produced for both Russian rifles.
CAPTURED AND CONVERTED ENEMY BAYONETS
Once again, these two bayonets are not classic ersatz bayonets in that they were not newly produced to fill a temporary gap, however, they were altered for the same purpose, which makes them pertinent to this thread. The top bayonet in the photos is a Model 1891 Italian Mannlicher-Carcano bayonet that has been altered for issue to an Austro-Hungarian NCO who was issued a captured Italian rifle. The pommel swivel enabled the NCO's bayonet knot to be worn attached to the bayonet rather than wrapped around the bayonet frog as was the case with the lesser ranks.
The bayonet on the bottom is a captured Model 1870 Vetterli bayonet which has been converted to fit the Model 1895 Mannlicher.