A simple and clever idea. Anyone know why the J handle was there?
http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/382293/1/istockphoto_382293_bayonet_japanese_ww2.jpg
Maybe just a fancy hand guard?
No. It had a very practical purpose. In combat.
I think it was meant to break the blade of the enemy’s bayonet or sword. giving it the name the hooked “blade-breaker” quillon.
Close enough.
The purpose was to trap the enemy’s bayonet in the hook, by twisting against it once it had hit the hilt. This gave the Japanese soldier the opportunity to twist or wrench the enemy weapon from the enemy soldier, or to control the enemy weapon with the initial surprise although once it’s locked in they both have the potential for controlling the other depending on strength and technique.
I don’t know about breaking the enemy blade. It takes a huge amount of torque to do it by twisting, probably more than anyone could manage at the wrist or arm, but maybe it was possible using other forms of leverage once it was locked in.
The risk for Allied troops was that the Japanese spent a lot of time on bayonet training and were very good at using it. Whether many Allied troops were injured as a result of the J hook technique is, for me anyway, unknown.
Very nice.
BTW, the original British model 1907 bayonet for the SMLE also had a j-shaded guard for the same purpose as the Japanese one. It was later omitted to speed up manufacture and since it was considered not to be needed.
Jan