Australian Owen Mk.I (1952) Bayonet

There was no bayonet for the Owen Gun when it was adopted in 1941. An experimental bayonet was made by the manufacturers of the Owen Gun (Lysaghts) when they were developing the Mark II Owen, although it was never adopted. A bayonet was not adopted for the Owen Gun until 1944. This bayonet was a shortened version of the standard Pattern 1907, or No. 1 Mark I bayonet. Originally designed for use with the trials Shortened and Lightened rifles, the bayonet was approved on the 31st July 1944, sealed on the 16th August 1944 and was designated Bayonet Sub-Machine Gun (Aust.) No.1 Mk.I.

A second model was approved and sealed on the same dates, being designated the Bayonet Sub-Machine Gun (Aust.) No.1 Mk II. Originally this mark was to have a new made 8 inch blade with a 3½ inch fuller, but all known examples were cut down from original Pattern 1907 bayonets. For this reason the fuller is longer than 3½ inches and thins towards the point of the bayonet.

On the 13th April 1945 the 10 inch Mk. I bayonet was adopted as a standard.

Between 1944 and 1945 the bayonets, both Marks I and II, were manufactured at the Orange Rifle Factory No. 3, Orange, New South Wales. In the early 1950s, when it was feared that the Korean conflict might spread, production resumed at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory.