WW2 German Rural Police Bayonet by P.D. LUNESCHLOSS with Leather Frog

Here on offer is a WW2 German rural Police bayonet by P.D. LUNESCHLOSS with leather frog.

It has a very fine pommel with only some minor wear to the plating on the upper obverse edge. The remainder of the plating is intact and the eagles head has crisp detailing.

This is the rarer version with a rifle slot and un-plated, un-feathered, “eagle’s eye” release button.

The antler grip plates remain in beautiful condition. The obverse plate shows the remains of hole below the lower rivet, indicating that it was once a clamshell type and was modified during the WW2 period. The plates are retained by two aluminium rivets with dressed heads on both sides.

The grip emblem is an open aluminium Nazi period Police eagle, showing little wear. The fact that this eagle shows so little wear could be indication that this piece was not worn frequently during the period.

The crossguard has the usual pattern of overlapping oak leaves, only extending to the quillon end on the reverse.
The centre of the reverse is plain and stamped with the Prussian Police (Schutzpolizei), unit marks "S.D. II. 4.0.". The S.D. indicates the Duesseldorf district and the roman numerals II, the individual unit within that district. The 4.0. probably indicates the property numbers or factory numbers.

These stampings don’t match those seen on the reverse of the upper scabbard mount, which implies that when the bayonet was modified (shortened) it ended up with another bayonets scabbard, which is not uncommon.

The unit markings on the scabbard are S.K.g. 1134 that indicate it originated in the Keonigsberg district.

The 13” blade of this example has been cut down and the craftsmanship is superb. The original nickel finish remains mirror bright and in excellent condition. There is only the slightest pitting in a couple of places on the top edge.
Interestingly also on the top edge is what I think is an early Prussian inspection stamp and the number “K423”. This number is also stamped on the edge of the hilt tang.

The obverse is also clearly stamped with maker’s name:

P.D. LUNESCHLOSS
SOLINGEN

The thick black scabbard shell is in great condition and retains its nickel silver fittings. It has the standard dual trim lines running along the front edges and is sewn up at the rear. The scabbard mounts are constructed of matching nickel, with scalloped edges where they meet the leather shell. Both mounts are retained by means of staples and there are some dents to the lower mount.

The black leather shell shows some dings and dents mainly to the front and has a very slight “bulge” on the reverse where the metal scabbard retaining spring has pushed against the leather over the years, as often seen on examples of 1st pattern Luftwaffe daggers.


This bayonet comes with a near mint black leather frog, that is maker marked GUSTAV SUDBRACK Bielefeld and dated 1941 on the reverse.

This is obviously a Nazi period addition probably when it was converted and has been fitted for a very long time as the leather is very hard now and is impossible to remove from the scabbard.

The blade measures 4.4” (11cm) long and the complete bayonet is 17.3”” (44cm) long.

It weighs a heavy 825g.

Below is some interesting history about these bayonets.

Prior to the centralizing of the German Police forces in 1936, many Police units wore very long bayonets equipped with a clamshell crossguard; these bayonets were equipped with blades as long as 18 inches. The obverse stag grip plate was affixed with a six-sided nickel Police insignia. The hilt was cast in nickel, having a pommel shape in the form of an eagle head and a quillon decorated with oak leaves. The scabbard was of black or brown leather, having matching nickel mounts. Police Officers wore a private purchase variety which also retained the clamshell device, but was of smaller overall proportion and was equipped with standard short blade.

After Hitler came to power, the many German Police organizations still operating through their respective states and provinces were centralized under the guidance of SS-Reichsführer Himmler. The previous sidearm, a very long bayonet with clamshell addition, was altered to suit the newly formed Police. The new weapon was reworked and reissued having the following characteristics; the blade length was reduced to 13 inches, the clamshell was removed, the grip was shortened, and the new Nazi Police grip insignia replaced the Weimar six-sided grip insignia. Since adequate numbers of reworked bayonets were available, few newly produced weapons were required.

Please see my pictures for the details of the condition, which complement this description.

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Code: 51035