World War II Database

Country of Origin	United States
Type	Blade
Length	171.000 mm

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe Mark 1 trench knives were WW1-era knucklebuster-dagger fighting knives used by officers of the American Expeditionary Force. They were designed by Henry Disston & Sons of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The initial examples were made by the French firm Au Lion, and later examples were made in the United States by Landers, Frary & Clark of New Britain, Connecticut; Henry Disston & Sons of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Oneida Community Limited. Though designed and produced during WW1, the end of the war meant most of the examples produced went directly to storage warehouses. In 1942, as the United States entered WW2, many of them were taken out of storage and given to Ranger and airborne units of the United States Army and to the Raider units of the United States Marine Corps. While most of the men thought the Mark 1 knives were adequate as fighting knives, many also thought that they were too flimsy as utility knives (cutting wires, opening ammunition crates, etc.). As the result, the Mark 1 knives were replaced in the US Marine Corps in late 1942 by the Mark 2 "KA-BAR" combat knives, and in the US Army in the spring of 1943 by the M3 fighting knives.

Source: Wikipedia ww2dbase

Last Major Revision: Jun 2012

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Please help us spread the word:  Reddit  Bluesky  Mastodon Stay updated with WW2DB:  RSS Feeds

Posting Your Comments on this Topic

Your Name
Your Webite
Your Email
	Your email will not be published
Comment Type	General comment/question Additional information about this page Looking for more information on this topic Looking for information about my relative
Your Comments

Notes:

1. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. Please refrain from using strong language. HTML tags are not allowed. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB.

2. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ.