Original Military SIG M530 M540 M542 Rifle Bayonet with Scabbard

~ Original Military SIG M530 M540 M542 Rifle Bayonet with Scabbard ~

Manufactured for the French army in the 1980s when they used the SIG M530 through M542 Assault Rifle series later being replaced by the better known FAMAS Rifle, having been so quickly obsoleted these bayonets have become hard to find and are a collectible in their own right.

This socket bayonet was designed in Switzerland for use on the Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft (S.I.G.) 530, 540, and 542 assault rifles.
This bayonet bears a resemblance to the Type C socket bayonet used on some variants of the Belgian FN–FAL assault rifle. The 22 mm. socket diameter allows firing of the NATO-standard 22 mm. rifle grenades.

The 530 was S.I.G.'s first 5.56 mm. rifle, developed during the late 1960s, but never produced in quantity. In the 1970s, the 530 gave rise to a family of S.I.G. assault rifles: the 540 (5.56 mm. rifle); 542 (7.62 mm. rifle); and, 543 (5.56 mm. carbine).

The S.I.G. 540 family were produced under license in France by MANURHIN (Manufacture de Machines du Haut Rhin) from 1978–88. France adopted the S.I.G. 540 as an interim infantry weapon, until the FAMAS rifle was available in sufficient numbers.

These rifles were exported to many countries, including: Bolivia, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritius. Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Paraguay, Seychelles, Swaziland, and Togo. Rifles of the S.I.G. 540 family were also manufactured under license in Chile and Portugal for their armed forces.

JAQCE