Lt Charles W. Kurtz Prototype M1 Carbine Bayonet
Lt Col Edson Raff - Battalion Commander proudly displays the first prototype Kurtz M1 Carbine Bayonet while confering with a British Officer during the First Lady Elenor Roosevelt visit at Chilton Foliat, England, October 1942
Major Doyle Yardley - Executive Officer carries an M1 Carbine with a locally made Kurtz M1 Carbine Bayonet while standing in formation for the review by First Lady Elenor Roosevelt at Chilton Foliat, England, October 1942
Lt Col Edson Raff - Battalion Commander shows a close up of the attachments for the prototype Kurtz M1 Carbine Bayonet during the First Lady Elenor Roosevelt visit at Chilton Foliat, England, October 1942
Lt Charles W. Kurtz set out to design a bayonet to attach to the M1 Carbine. Nearby was the Chilton Foliat Aircraft Factory where bolts and other minor parts were made for Spitfires. The 509th regularly visited to have helmets and other equipment repaired as well as to visit the many English ladies that worked there. Lt Kurtz took his design to their machinist and two to three made. The bayonet is a steel rod that is flatened and shaped on one end to form a blade. The rod then passes through the forward attachment and is possibly threaded and secured at the rear attachment. It is unclear as to how the attachments work. There seems to be a set of tightening screws at the forward attachment. It is not known what happened to these prototypes, Lt Col Edson Raff is the only one likely to have kept his since Maj Doyle Yardley would later be captured in Italy and Lt Kurtz would be KIA in North Africa.
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