Royal Navy cutlasses
Ratings of the Royal Navy have used cutlasses, short, wide bladed swords, since the early 18th century.
These were originally of non-uniform design but the 1804 Pattern, the first Navy-issue standard cutlass, was introduced at the start of the 19th century.
The 1845 Pattern cutlass introduced a bowl-style hand guard which provided greater protection, with a longer and more curved blade.
The 1889 Pattern had a straight, spear-pointed blade with a hilt that curved outwards to catch and redirect an opponent's sword point.
The 1900 Pattern, the last navy-issue cutlass, was similar to its predecessor with the introduction of a fuller and a hilt insert that cushioned the user's little finger.
It proved less than ideal in both roles, its hilt not providing sufficient protection for the hand and its weight unbalancing the rifle.
When the navy adopted the Lee–Metford rifle in 1888 it did not design its own cutlass bayonet and used the standard army-issue pattern.
However, the weapon was commonly referred to as such in unofficial and official situations, for example the navy drill manual describes "cutlass" exercises.
[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 fuller groove on the back edge.
By the middle of the century advances in steel-making, such as the use of drop forging, had reduced the cost of the material and the Royal Navy adopted the steel hilt.
[1] From around the middle of the century the Board of Ordnance favoured the "double disc" or "figure of eight" cutlass hilt.
[4] 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.
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.
It is possible that this pattern entered service earlier than 1845 but a fire at the Tower of London storehouse has clouded the issue.
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).
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.
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.
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.
[13] 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.
[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.
The guard contained a slot for attachment of a sword knot and, like the modified 1845 Pattern cutlass, turned outwards slightly for strength.
A mortice groove on the left side of the bayonet helped fit it to the rifle and it was secured by a leaf spring catch near the pommel.
[13] The bayonet weighed 2 pounds 5 ounces (1.0 kg) and when fitted to the rifle allowed the user to strike a target 7 feet (2.1 m) away.
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.
[22] The War Department decided to continue to issue a separate cutlass bayonet for the Royal Navy.
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.
[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.
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 hilts of the Coastguard cutlasses were reused by the War Department; mounted to straight blades they were issued to privates of the Army Hospital Corps from 1857.
