replace these earlier scabbards. The M3 scabbard had a body made of resin-impregnated cotton duck canvas with a metal throat, and was equipped with a wire hook hanger. The M1905 bayonet had a tendency to rattle inside the scabbard, and so ribs were molded into the scabbard tip to hold the blade. When production of the M1 bayonet began in 1943, a new scabbard, the M7 (otherwise identical in construction to the M3) was developed that used spring steel plates in the scabbard throat to hold the blade instead of the molded ribs. As a part of the bayonet-shortening program, M3 scabbards were also recalled for modification. The tabs which held the body to the throat were bent outward, the body was removed and shortened, and then reinserted into the throat and the tabs bent back. Since the tabs had a tendency to break off when being bent during the shortening process, later shortened scabbards had the tabs removed, short V-shaped cuts were made in the sides of the throat, and it was crimped onto the shortened body using a special tool. See also List of individual weapons of the U.S. Armed Forces M3 fighting knife M4 bayonet M5 bayonet M6 bayonet M7 bayonet M9 bayonet References External links Olive Drab Bayonets of the United States World War I infantry weapons of the United States World War II infantry weapons of the United States