M9 bayonet

The M9 Bayonet is a multi-purpose knife and bayonet officially adopted in 1984 by the United States. It was issued with a special sheath designed to double as a wire cutter. It was designed and developed by Charles A. "Mickey" Finn at his R&D company, Qual-A-Tec. He later produced it under the Phrobis III name, filling a military contract for 325,000 units. Buck Knives, which later sold a commercial version under their own name, was in no way responsible for the design of the M9 bayonet or the later Buckmaster knives -all of which were designed by Mickey Finn. Finn's designs proved extremely popular, and were widely (and illegally) copied and sold by other makers. In 1986, Finn received US patent|4622707, which helped cut down on knockoffs, though they continued to flow into the country unchecked from Asia and Mexico, cutting into legitimate American sales.

After the Phrobis III bayonet contract was completed, rights to the M9 reverted to the U.S. Army and there were many subsequent versions from other companies. It is used by the U.S., some other countries, and has also been sold commercially (in various versions).

Some production runs of the M9 have a fuller and some do not, depending upon which contractor manufactured that batch and what the military specs were at the time. The M9 Bayonet partially replaced, but is used in addition to, the older M6 and M7 Bayonets, introduced in 1957 and 1964 respectively. Many troops have retained the M7, since the M9 has a reputation for breakage, due to a combination of its relatively thin blade, and varying quality among the various contractors used.Fact|date=March 2008

The M11 bayonet, or M11 EOD, is a version of the M9 specialized for Explosive ordnance disposal (EOD). It has some extra features, such as a hammer pommel, but uses the same knife and sheath as the M9.

There have been four main makes of M9's: Phrobis, Buck (subcontracted from Phrobis during the original Army contract), LanCay, and Ontario. As mentioned, Qual-A-Tec developed the design, then set up the Phrobis company to handle the government contract. Starting in 1987, Phrobis subcontracted Buck, finishing up in 1989. It was around this time that Buck sold commercial M9s as well, which it did up to 1997.

LanCay got its first contract in March 1992 (taking over production from Buck) for 30 (later 50) thousand knives (with General Cutlery as a subcontractor); in 1994, there was another contract issued for about 100,000 improved M9 models. In 1999, a contract for 25,000 knives was split between LanCay and Ontario (12,500 each). Ontario Knife Company also participated in later contracts, and is one of the current (as of 2005) contractors for producing them (blades marked "M-9 / ONTARIO / KNIFE CO / USA").

Comparison

The M6 bayonet is used as a bayonet on the M14 rifle and as a hand weapon. The similar M7 bayonet is used as a bayonet on the M16 rifle and as a hand weapon. The M9 multipurpose bayonet system is used as a bayonet on the M16 series rifle, on the M4 series carbine, as a hand weapon, as a general field and utility knife as well as a wire cutter together with its sheath, and as a saw. The M9 also fits the Mossberg 590 Special Purpose shotgun.

Buck knives production

An overview of M9 types made by Buck, one of the makers of M9 bayonet-knives. The 5000 for the Marines are included under the Army numbers in this listing.

ee also

*Mickey Finn (inventor)
*List of individual weapons of the U.S. Armed Forces
*List of bayonets by country
*M9 pistol
*M9 Armored Combat Earthmover
*Aircrew Survival Egress Knife (ASEK; special knife adopted circa 2003 for Army aviators)
*OKC-3S Bayonet (USMC Bayonet;adopted in early 2000s for M16/M4 family)
*Ka-Bar (Fighting Knife)
*Knuckle duster
*Bayonet

External links

* [http://www.m9bayonet.com/development-m9.html The Development of the M9 Bayonet] (contains many factual errors and omissions)
* [http://www.army.mil/fact_files_site/bayonet/ Army Fact File on Bayonets]
* [http://www.buck-184.com/library/us04622707.pdf PDF of patent (buck-184.com)]
* [http://nsc.natick.army.mil/media/fact/individual/USMC_Bayonet.htm USMC Multi-purpose Bayonet (MB)]
* [http://www.olive-drab.com/od_edged_weapons_bayonet_m9.php Olive Drab on the M9]