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

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