Hello everyone!
I am hoping to get a 2nd opinion on a few M1917 bayonet scabbards I came across in a museum I worked at. Does anyone know which manufacturer made this type of scabbard with this type of insignia/stamp (the ordnance shell/bomb and flame)?
Here are some identifying markers.
On the throat of the scabbard is the Ordnance shell/bomb and Flame with U.S. stamped in the center of it. Below that insignia is M-1917. Underneath the lip of the throat is "B-N /1" (I put the / in the name to indicate the 1 is underneath the B-N) . Some of these scabbards have a white or black number painted on their throat. Also, before I left work that day, I decided to look at a few more of the scabbards. I just found that some of them have "B-N / 2" stamped on the lip. So I don't know what the numbers mean.
I have been able to identify the manufacturers of other M1917 scabbards, because they had their manufacturer stamp on them. However, this one is proving troublesome. Some auction sights have stated it is made by Beckwith Manufacturing Company (but I found that auction sites can not be the most reliable). One bayonet book I looked through shows a diagram of this scabbard and insignia. It states that 1945 production Beckwith was contracted to modify the M3 Scabbard to fit the M1917 bayonet, thus the modified version of the M1917 scabbard was born. However, another book stated that Beckwith scabbards are stamped with B.M. CO. Thought that may have been AFTER world war 2 and may have been used in Vietnam.
Also, someone on "R/ Bayonets" pointed me to the website " www . usmilitaryknives . com / bayo_points_7.htm*"* . This provided some information about the M1917 Scabbard, but the person who wrote the article is also trying so solve some mysteries of M1917.
So I am getting some conflicting information. I appreciate the help!