Royal Navy cutlasses
In addition to the cutlass the Royal Navy designed and issued cutlass-style
Background
The cutlass is a short sword with a wide single-edged blade that is often curved.
The cutlass may have had its origins in the hanger, a short curved sword that was used by the Royal Navy in the 17th century.[1] The term "cutlass" was never used by the navy as the designation for an individual weapon pattern; the official terms used were "Sword for Sea Service" or "Sword, Naval". However, the weapon was commonly referred to as such in unofficial and official situations, for example the navy drill manual describes "cutlass" exercises.[1]
Early cutlasses
From the beginning of the 18th century the cutlass began to be adopted as the melee weapon for naval ratings.[4] The Board of Ordnance placed orders for quantities of the weapons but these do not seem to have been from a set pattern with different manufacturers providing their own styles of sword.[1]
Surviving weapons from this period have blades measuring 25–28.5 inches (64–72 cm) in length with a
From around the middle of the century the Board of Ordnance favoured the "double disc" or "figure of eight" cutlass hilt. This most likely originated with weapons supplied by Thomas Hollier of Whitechapel who sold 1,000 cutlasses to the board in 1726. The hilt featured a circle of metal above the hand as a crossguard and another circle as a knuckle guard. Although antler had earlier been favoured as a material for the grip the board switched to a plain tubular-shaped steel grip, which was cheaper but also slippery in wet conditions.[4]
1804 Pattern
The Board of Ordnance established its first standard pattern of cutlass in 1804, placing an order for 10,000 "Swords for Sea Service" on 30 May. By this time
The 1804 Pattern cutlass had a double disc guard though, unlike earlier cutlasses, the quillon was a relatively small roll of steel. The smooth tubular grip was replaced by one of cast iron, shaped to fit the hand and with grooves (usually 18 circumferential and six longitudinal) to improve grip. Like many of the 18th-century cutlasses there was no
The cutlass was provided with a brown leather scabbard, with a brass chape. The scabbard had no locket around the top and was connected to the user's belt by means of a frog hook straight through the leather. This was a relatively weak fixing and few hooks remain on surviving scabbards.[9] Aside from government markings the 1804 Pattern cutlass is similar to, and sometimes confused with, early American cutlasses and the 1814 Pattern Norwegian cutlass.[4]
1845 Pattern
After the end of the
The 1845 Pattern was significantly different from the 1804 Pattern. The blade, at 29+1⁄2 inches (75 cm), was the longest of any pattern of cutlass to be issued and was significantly more curved. The knuckle-guard was a simple steel bowl, providing greater protection than the double disc design, the outside of which curved outwards for additional strength (a feature retained in later patterns). The hilt had no quillon but retained the slit for a sword knot. It is possible that the guard was modelled on that of the 1821 Pattern Heavy Cavalry Sword, though this retained the quillon and lacked the outwards curve.[9]
The 1845 Pattern retained the cast-iron grip but it was simplified with no longitudinal grooves and only 12 circumferential grooves. The grip was also less ergonomically shaped than the 1804 Pattern, possibly for cost reasons. The 1845 Pattern also introduced a small pommel at the base of the hilt, which was referred to as a burr. The scabbard was similar to the 1804 Pattern, with the same lack of locket which again often allowed the frog hook to pull out from the leather. The 1845 Pattern featured an acute point, making it more useful than its predecessor for thrusting which was now emphasised in the navy's drill manuals.[9]
Modifications
The 1845 Pattern was subject to many minor modifications, though the official records of these have been lost.[10] These would have come within the remit of the War Department (and its successor the War Office), which took over responsibility for the procurement of naval weapons, including cutlasses, in 1854, shortly before the Board of Ordnance was disbanded.[4]
A modification introduced around 1859 reduced the distance between the grip and inside face of the knuckle guard from 2+3⁄4 inches (7.0 cm) to 2+3⁄8 inches (6.0 cm), narrowed the width of the guard where it met the pommel and inserted a washer between the guard and the grip. The top edge of the guard was also turned out slightly, towards the blade. At the same time the blade was shortened to 27 inches (69 cm) and reduced slightly in width.[10]
In the 1870s the blades were again shortened, this time to 26 inches (66 cm). The same decade a second round of modifications straightened the blades. The straightened blades were not initially re-heat treated, which left them weaker and liable to bend. Following complaints some were re-treated, these being marked with an "R".[10] In 1887 the blades were shortened further.[10]
1889 Pattern
Perhaps because stocks of the 1845 Pattern cutlass were running low, preventing further modification, a new pattern was introduced in 1889. The 1889 Pattern cutlass was straight, with a spear point. The bowl-hilt of the weapon was modelled on the 1882 Pattern Cavalry Sword. The grip was formed of cast iron and almost cylindrical. The 1889 Pattern included perhaps the most innovative feature of any Royal Navy cutlass. The edge of the guard was rolled outwards, adding strength to the guard and also acting as a stop rib which could catch an opponent's sword point and deflect it away from the user.[12] A mix of bright steel and black-painted sword guards seem to have been used. It is likely that ceremonial weapons were kept in bright steel and service weapons were painted, either before being issued or on an ad hoc basis on ships.[13] The scabbard of the 1889 Pattern cutlass was in black leather with two steel mounts and, for the first time in a Royal Navy pattern, featured a locket.[12]
1900 Pattern
The final cutlass approved for naval use was the 1900 Pattern. This retained the straight blade of the 1889 Pattern, but introduced a fuller running one-third of the blade length. The bowl-type hilt with upturned rim was also retained, though a concave insert was added to the inside where the guard joins the pommel. This helped to cushion the user's little finger and was derived from the
In 1903, the Royal Navy received a quantity of British Army pioneer swords as they were withdrawn from use, though there is little evidence that these were ever issued to ratings. The 1900 Pattern cutlass was withdrawn from combat service on 22 October 1936.[13] The order noted that the cutlass was no longer to be issued for use by landing parties but was to be retained for ceremonial use, with numbers being limited to 20 for each ship with more than 500 personnel and 10 for ships with fewer personnel.[14] There are claims that the cutlass was used in combat during the 1940 Altmark incident and that it was issued to a boarding party aboard HMS Armada in 1952, but Barton and McGrath (2013) doubt the veracity of these. They maintain that the cutlass last saw combat service in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion.[15]
Until the mid-2010s, a drawn cutlass was carried by the prisoner's escort at Royal Navy
1859 Enfield Cutlass Sword Bayonet
The Royal Navy was issued with its first rifled long arm in 1859, the
The design had been finalised on 18 April 1859 but was amended on 1 May to replace the grip with a knurled leather design, presumably as the original design had proven too slippery.[13] The scabbard was of black leather with a steel locket and chape.[13] The scabbard was fitted with "Verney's catch" to retain the bayonet when scrambling into and out of ship's boats. From 30 January 1862 the scabbards were redesigned by Colonel Dixon of the Royal Small Arm Factory to include a spring in lieu of Verney's catch, to retain the bayonet during such movements.[19] The cutlass bayonet proved less than ideal in its role as a cutlass and as a bayonet. When wielded in the hand the muzzle ring quillon gave less protection to the hand than was desirable and when fitted to the rifle its weight made the weapon muzzle-heavy, affecting the sailor's aim.[13] More than 80,000 1859 Enfield Cutlass Sword Bayonets were made and the weapon remained in use when the Enfields were converted into Snider–Enfield breechloading rifles from 1866.[21][19]
1871 Martini-Henry Cutlass Sword Bayonet
The .450 calibre
Following trials from November 1869 into 1870, a new cutlass bayonet was developed, known as the 1871 Pattern.[23] The new weapon was shorter, at 25+1⁄2 inches (65 cm), and narrower, at 1+1⁄4 inches (3.2 cm) wide, and therefore lighter, weighing 1 pound 15 ounces (0.88 kg).[22] [23] The blade was straight, unlike its predecessor.[22] The scabbard, as before, was black leather with a steel chape and locket.[22]
Some 1871 Pattern bayonets were manufactured but many seem to have been made by converting 1859 Pattern weapons.[23] The process of conversion included shortening and straightening the blade and reducing the size of the hilt.[23] Between 1874 and 1880 some 50,711 1859 Pattern cutlasses were converted to the 1871 Pattern at a cost of between 8 and 9 shillings a piece (equivalent to £2 in 2021).[23] The straightened weapons were not re-heat treated and suffered a loss of strength.[22] There were complaints about the bayonets bending during drill exercises and at the 1885 Battle of Abu Klea a sailor was killed after his bayonet bent and was trapped in the body of his enemy. In 1887 a series of tests found 60% of the converted bayonets failed a strength test.[24][22]
In 1888, the Royal Navy adopted the Lee–Metford rifle and opted not to procure a cutlass bayonet, instead using the standard bayonet as used by the British Army.[25]
Markings
Swords are often marked with details of their manufacturer and service use, for Royal Navy cutlasses the markings vary over time. The only marking on pre-1804 cutlasses is usually that of the manufacturer. From 1804 official pattern cutlasses are marked with the royal cypher of the monarch at the time and sometimes an inspection mark consisting of a crown and identifying numeral. From 1804 the maker's mark is usually found on the back edge of the blade, at least 30 different manufacturers of Royal Navy cutlasses are known from 1804 or later. The cyphers were later replaced by a crown with a letter identifying an inspection location and a number identifying the individual government inspector. The letters were initially "B" for Birmingham and "E" for Enfield, with an "S" for Solingen (in modern Germany) added when issues with supply led the government to seek blades from abroad and a "W" for Wilkinson Sword when that company was permitted to carry out testing on behalf of the government.[27]
Where pre-1854 cutlasses were marked as owned by the government this was a "BO" for the Board of Ordnance; after this "WD" or the broad arrow of the War Department were used. When weapons were sold from service the mark was sometimes cancelled or, in the case, of the broad arrow a second arrow marked, point to point with the first. An "N" for navy is sometimes marked. From the late 19th century cutlasses were often stamped with the last two digits of the year of manufacture. Where weapons were converted they were stamped "C/XX" with the latter two digits indicating the year of conversion, a second inspection mark was also often added. The letter "R" indicated a weapon that was retempered after modification, the letter "X" indicates the side made convex during a compression test. The cutlasses were sometimes marked with a number to indicate their position in a weapons rack, for example of the quarterdeck of a ship. The Enfield cutlass bayonets were not generally interchangeable and so were numbered to match to a specific rifle. The scabbards are also sometimes marked, particularly for later units, with location of manufacture, "N" for navy and inspection stamp.[27]
Other cutlasses
The Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers, a naval reserve force from 1873 to 1892, also had their own cutlass pattern. This was a hybrid design between the naval cutlass and a navy officer's sword; it is not known if this weapon was issued to ratings, warrant officers or officers.[28] Another maritime force, the Thames River Police, which was brought into government control in 1800 and not given to the Metropolitan Police in 1839, was also issued with its own cutlass. The Revenue Service, precursor of HM Coastguard, may also have been issued with their own cutlass design.[29]
References
- ^ a b c d e Barton & McGrath 2013, p. 26.
- ^ Barton & McGrath 2013, p. 7.
- ^ Barton & McGrath 2013, p. 8.
- ^ a b c d e f Barton & McGrath 2013, p. 27.
- ^ Barton & McGrath 2013, pp. 26–27.
- ^ May & Annis 1970, Plate 65
- ^ Barton & McGrath 2013, pp. 27–28.
- ^ May & Annis 1970, Plate 66
- ^ a b c d e Barton & McGrath 2013, p. 28.
- ^ a b c d Barton & McGrath 2013, p. 29.
- ^ May & Annis 1970, Plate 72
- ^ a b Barton & McGrath 2013, p. 30.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Barton & McGrath 2013, p. 31.
- ^ "Royal Navy". Official Appointments and Notices. The Times. No. 47514. London. 1936-10-24. col D, p. 17.
- ^ Barton & McGrath 2013, p. 21.
- ^ "BR 3 Part 6 June 2013 (page 39A-2)" (PDF). Royal Navy. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ "Armed Forces Act (Continuation) Order 2019 Volume 795: debated on Wednesday 20 February 2019". House of Lords. Hansard. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ "BRd 3(1) June 2016 Version 9 (page 39A-34)" (PDF). Royal Navy.
- ^ a b c d e f Carter, p. 1.
- ^ May & Annis 1970, Plate 75
- ^ Manning 2020, p. 90.
- ^ a b c d e f g Barton & McGrath 2013, p. 32.
- ^ a b c d e Carter, p. 2.
- ^ Carter, p. 3.
- ^ Ford 2013, p. 298.
- ^ May & Annis 1970, Plate 140
- ^ a b Barton & McGrath 2013, p. 34.
- ^ Barton & McGrath 2013, p. 63.
- ^ Barton & McGrath 2013, p. 33.
Bibliography
- Barton, Mark; McGrath, John (3 July 2013). British Naval Swords and Swordsmanship. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-135-9.
- Carter, John. "The British Naval Cutlass Bayonet" (PDF). New Zealand Arms Register. New Zealand Society of Gunsmiths.
- Ford, Matthew (2013). "Towards a Revolution in Firepower? Logistics, Lethality, and the Lee-Metford". War in History. 20 (3): 273–299. S2CID 144919154.
- Manning, Stephen (30 September 2020). Bayonet to Barrage: Weaponry on the Victorian Battlefield. Pen and Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-5267-7724-9.
- .