Socket Bayonets: A History and Collector's Guide

by Graham Priest

The bayonet was originally developed in the seventeenth century in its early ‘plug’ form, probably as a hunting ancillary. From this starting point it became a military success, helping to abolish the pike as a British army weapon. Innovative technologies were used to allow both bayonet and musket to be used together, by adoption of a socket, and the use of this weapon in many European wars during the early eighteenth century influenced its international prestige. In the nineteenth century mass-produced, interchangeable and breech-loaded firearms appeared, but the bayonet lived on. Methods of attachment were improved, and single-shot firearms and traditional warfare tactics required its issue in most countries until the 1880s, and in Russia and Great Britain into the twentieth century. Designers at this time attempted to expand the role of the bayonet as a digging tool or sidearm, and produced unusual and decorative examples. Even during the First World War the socket bayonet was Imperial Russia’s primary issue, and Austria, Germany and Finland used captured examples. The remainder of the twentieth century saw further development of the bayonet in many countries, such as Soviet Russia, Britain (miniature ‘pig-sticker’ and later variants), Belgium (tubular version), Switzerland (‘luxury’ model). Today, Britain’s armed forces remain the latest exponents of the socket bayonet.In this book, Graham Priest uses clear, detailed images to guide the reader through the history of the socket bayonet, showing common examples and rarer versions to provide a rounded introduction to the topic.

96 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2016

Reviews

[Milly Wonford]

Covering the history of the 'socket' from the sixteenth century, through the British Industrial Revolution to more recent warfare, this book is an interesting insight into the origins and developments of, not only the bayonet, but also the socket.

Alongside the brief, yet informative, text are colour photos of great detail that allow for a better understanding of some technical terminology.

The highlight of this book, for me, was that it didn't just focus on one country's development, but delved into the histories of other countries. It allows readers' interest to blossom, and therefore initiating further research on their part.

This book would appeal to gun and weapon enthusiast, but I think reconnaissance enthusiasts as well.

Overall, a well-informed and researched, detailed, and informative book.

[Mildred Little · Rating 3 out of 5]

A super easy read, informative and detailed - even if the text is brief. But this just means that if something were to interest you, you can always do more research. The colour photos are great, and also help to visualise some of the tricky technical text - if you're a newbie to socket bayonets!

It covers the broad history, from origin and development, to current use in warfare.

Can be read as a whole, or used as a reference guide to particular eras or designs.

And my favourite bit - the cover is well-designed. I do like a good jacket!

[Tomasz Pietrzak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice, but photos terrible edited

Interesting photos, but terrible edited. Many of them mixed in one what make it unreadable. Detailed photos in small resolution have no sense