Socket Bayonet M/1842-44 for M/1842 18-Lødig Rifle
The Norwegian M/1842 18-lødige chamber loaded rifle was approved the 18. May 1842 (trial). It got approved for ordinary usage later when model M/1846 came to use. The chamber loader was produced by Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk in Norway and in Liége i Belgia.
The chamber loader was delivered with a socket bayonet M/1842, that came with Kyhl locking mechanism. This locking mechanism was chosen because it allowed to have a lower front sight on the firearm.
About 400 M/1842 bayonets got produced at Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk and about 100 in Liége.
After a while the military decided that the Kyhl locking mechanism was too weak, so the bayonet was changed for a more common locking ring. This modification started the 23. September 1844, and this version of the bayonet was designated M/1842-44. Today there exist very few remaining unmodified M/1842 bayonets.
The M/1842-44 bayonet looks much like the later M/1846, M/1849 and M/1855 bayonets. The easiest difference to spot is a small circle shaped mark in the socket after the hole where the Kyhl locking mechanism was secured with a screw. This hole was sealed whene the bayonet was modified. In addition you can notice a mark where the outer edge of the mortise has been sealed.
M/1846 (Kongsberg) at the top, M/1842-44 (Kongsberg) below.
