From the December 1999 issue, page 338.

OUT-OF-THE-ORDINARY JAPANESE T-30 ARISAKA BAYONETS

By Jerry L. Price

No. 16. CZECHOSLOVAKIAN VZ 24 - JAPANESE NAVY

For me, the most difficult Japanese bayonet to identify is the Japanese purchased Czech VZ 24. I have always assumed that the standard Czech VZ 24 bayonet with frog was included with the VZ 24 rifles that were purchased from Ceskoslovenka Zbrojovka (CZ) in the late 1930's. Although the rifles that were purchased were supposedly all in the manufacturer's rifle serial range designated as the P SERIES, there doesn't seem to be a manufacturer's serial number system employed on Czech bayonets. At least I haven't noted serial numbers on the few that I checked. Contrary to the standard Japanese practice of applying arsenal acceptance inspection marks to almost every individual part of every piece of military equipment used by the Japanese government, foreign purchased equipment apparently was not marked by the Japanese. The P SERIES helps to narrow down the possibilities of which rifles might be Japanese VZ 24s. However the bayonets are elusive.

Since the Germans took over control of the Czech arsenal before any rifles were shipped to Japan, the purchase contract was actually completed under German control. So this change in authority provides room for more speculation. Fortunately the Japanese Navy provided the bayonet collector with a big favor when they applied hand written kanji numbers, in white paint, on top of the handle of their bayonets. These handle marks were typical for the Japanese Navy and are found on many T-30 bayonets. Therefore, VZ 24 bayonets with white painted numbers on the top of the handle is an accepted method of identifying a Japanese Navy VZ 24 bayonet. Although, this paint is fragile and might not have survived since the 1930s (and it might not have been applied to every bayonet), it does provide an identifiable sample of enough bayonets to help define which bayonet-type was used with the Japanese VZ 24 rifle. If there are no painted numbers, it does not mean the bayonet is not Japanese; it just opens the field for speculation.

The best example of a JAPANESE VZ 24 BAYONET is shown below.