What is "sword bayonet"

Sword \Sword\ (s[=o]rd), n. [OE. swerd, AS. sweord; akin to OFries. swerd, swird, D. zwaard, OS. swerd, OHG. swert, G. schwert, Icel. sver[eth], Sw. sv["a]rd, Dan. sv[ae]rd; of uncertain origin.]

1. An offensive weapon, having a long and usually sharp-pointed blade with a cutting edge or edges. It is the general term, including the small sword, rapier, saber, scimiter, and many other varieties.

2. Hence, the emblem of judicial vengeance or punishment, or of authority and power.

   He [the ruler] beareth not the sword in vain.
   --Rom. xiii. 4.

   She quits the balance, and resigns the sword.
   --Dryden.

3. Destruction by the sword, or in battle; war; dissension.

   I came not to send peace, but a sword.
   --Matt. x. 3

4. 4. The military power of a country.

   He hath no more authority over the sword than over the law.
   --Milton.

5. (Weaving) One of the end bars by which the lay of a hand loom is suspended. Sword arm, the right arm. Sword bayonet, a bayonet shaped somewhat like a sword, and which can be used as a sword. Sword bearer, one who carries his master's sword; an officer in London who carries a sword before the lord mayor when he goes abroad. Sword belt, a belt by which a sword is suspended, and borne at the side. Sword blade, the blade, or cutting part, of a sword. Sword cane, a cane which conceals the blade of a sword or dagger, as in a sheath. Sword dance.

   1. A dance in which swords are brandished and clashed together by the male dancers.
      --Sir W. Scott.

   2. A dance performed over swords laid on the ground, but without touching them.

      Sword fight, fencing; a combat or trial of skill with swords; swordplay.

      Sword grass. (Bot.) See Gladen.

      Sword knot, a ribbon tied to the hilt of a sword.

      Sword law, government by the sword, or by force; violence.
      --Milton.

      Sword lily. (Bot.) See Gladiolus.

      Sword mat (Naut.), a mat closely woven of yarns; -- so called from a wooden implement used in its manufacture.

      Sword shrimp (Zo["o]l.), a European shrimp ( Pasiph[ae]a sivado) having a very thin, compressed body.

      Sword stick, a sword cane.

      To measure swords with one. See under Measure, v. t.

      To put to the sword. See under Put.

n. A bayonet that is shaped somewhat like a sword, and can be used as one.

thumb|300px|right| Ishapore 2A1 Lee–Enfield with P1907 sword bayonetA sword bayonet is any long, knife-bladed bayonet designed for mounting on a musket or rifle. Its use is thought to have begun in the 18th century and to have reached its height of popularity throughout the 19th and into the early 20th centuries. When unmounted from a musket or rifle, sword bayonets with their typical hilts and long blades also could be wielded as short swords. While modern military bayonets typically have knife blades, they are usually too short to be called sword bayonets and are more akin to fighting/utility knives.

Sword bayonets originated for use with muzzle-loading rifles. A typical example of an early sword bayonet is the 58 centimetre (23 inch) blade variety designed for the Infantry rifle, later called the Baker rifle of the Napoleonic era British Army.

Most infantry would routinely keep bayonets fixed to their inaccurate smoothbore muskets throughout a battle. Close order ranks and squares presented a hedge of bayonets to the enemy, which was especially useful for deterring cavalry. But a fixed bayonet - a pound or so of extra metal on the front of a firearm - seriously affects a firearm’s balance and hampers accurate shooting. A rifleman usually fought without a fixed bayonet since accuracy was the whole point of his rifled weapon. He therefore required a side-arm that could be drawn and used instantly in an emergency so his bayonet had a cutting edge and a grippable hilt. That such bayonets were far heavier than standard socket bayonets was not a disadvantage since they were rarely fixed.

(In truth, most riflemen found it worked better for cutting brush and roasting meat over a fire. (see Rifleman Harris, Costello's, Simmons's diaries))

On occasion riflemen did form up in close order. Since rifles were shorter than muskets their bayonets needed to be longer to produce the same total length; the sword bayonet answered this need.

As well as rifle regiments, other soldiers whose battlefield role did not involve standing shoulder to shoulder in ranks, notably sergeants, also came to use sword bayonets. By the end of the nineteenth century all infantry had become riflemen and the sword bayonet had become the standard infantry bayonet.

With the appearance of the hiltless sword bayonet, such as the socket-mounted variety, their use on the end of the musket or rifle also became a hindrance during the reloading of the muzzle-loaded longarm, (a common problem to all muzzle-loading infantry weapons). A bayonet of similar style and dimension was used on the Lee–Enfield rifle of the early 20th century.

However, the advantages of sword bayonets over spike bayonets are evident. Where a spike bayonet turns the rifle into a spear, a sword bayonet turns it into a glaive. Unlike spike bayonets, which can be used only for thrusting, sword bayonets can also be used for slashing, except for the épée bayonets. Twisting a sword bayonet in the wound was especially lethal. Before the advent of modern medicine after World War I, a soldier struck by a sword bayonet was very unlikely to survive.

While most sword bayonets have straight blades, a popular variant in the 19th century featured sinuous, S-curved blades like those found on the Balkan's and Middle-East's sword called the yataghan. Today, sword bayonets of this style are said to have "yataghan" blades, or to be "yataghan-bladed".

Both sword and spike bayonets lost their popularity after World War I. While sword bayonets can be effective as short swords, they proved to be too unwieldy in cramped quarters in trench warfare, although spike bayonets continued to be used throughout most of the 20th century. A shorter version of the sword bayonet, the knife bayonet, was developed. Today, the majority of modern bayonets are knife bayonets.