AUSTRALIAN ISSUED KOREAN/MALAYAN/VIETNAM WAR PERIOD OWEN GUN BAYONET BY LITHGOW
The Korean War-period Australian Owen Mk 1 submachine gun bayonet was produced at the Lithgow Small Arms factory starting in 1952, following earlier World War II production by the Orange Arsenal. These post-war, Korean conflict contracts featured a shortened 10-inch blade, wooden grips (often Slazenger-stamped), and modified or newly built components issued to troops. They are considered rarer than the WW2 examples. Australian troops also used the Owen Gun in the Malayan confrontation and in the early years of the Vietnam War. Infantry scouts and support units carried the rugged 9mm submachine gun for close-quarters jungle fighting before it was replaced by newer weapons like the F1 submachine gun and the M16 rifle by the late 1960s.
This example is in near mint condition with most of the original bluing remaing to all metal parts. Wood handle grips are stamped SLAZ 51. One side of the ricasso is stamped with the bench mark X and MA for MUNITIONS AUSTRALIA, the other is double arrow stamped and dated '52 for 1952. The scabbard used for these bayonets were left over stocks from WW2 production and stamped MANGROVITE 44.
You could not get a better example of this bayonet