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This is one of 12,000 bayonets, which, together with their rifles, were shipped to the Ulster Volunteer Force in 1912. These weapons helped create the Curragh Incident in 1913 where many senior officers of the British army offered to resign their commissions over the arming of the Protestant militia in Ulster. Some of these weapons wound up in the hands of the IRA in the course of the troubles. The rifle cartridge was the standard 7.92 mm German Mauser service round. The design of the hilt is that of the 1871/84 model Mauser bayonet. However, this bayonet has OEWG stamped deeply at the forte, indicating Austrian factory production at Oesterreiche Waffen Gesellschaft. There are minor traces of its original black paint on the scabbard. The fruitwood grips have some minor bruising and the frog stud is a little loose. The muzzle ring diameter is 14 mm as opposed to the more usually encountered German varieties which have a 17 mm diameter. |