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U.S. M1917 "Knuckle Duster" trench knife and leather sheath of World War I. Note the triangular blade with the flat face facing forward, making it suitable only for stabbing and not slashing. A trench knife is a combat knife designed to kill or incapacitate an enemy at close quarters, such as in a trench or other confined area.
Marine Raiders insignia. At the start of World War II, the Mark I Trench Knife was the only knife issued to Marines. It was introduced during World War I for trench warfare, but its "knuckle duster" hilt was cumbersome and contained nearly 1 pound (0.45 kg) of brass, making the knife expensive to produce.
It was advised not to polish brass knuckles as allowing the brass to darken would act as camouflage on the battlefield. [2] By World War II, knuckles and knuckle knives were quite popular with both American and British soldiers. The Model 1918 trench knives were reissued to American paratroopers. A notable knuckle knife still in use is the ...
The Mark I trench knife was replaced in Army service by the M3 trench knife in 1943 as well as old bayonets converted into fighting knives, [15] while the U.S. Marine Corps issued its own combat and utility knife the same year designated the 1219C2, later known as the USMC Mark 2 combat knife aka the USMC knife, fighting utility. [16]
The M3 was first issued to U.S. Army soldiers in March 1943, with the first knives going to elite units such as airborne troops and the U.S. Army Rangers. [4] Despite Ordnance descriptions of the knife as being designed for hand-to-hand warfare, the M3 did not receive universal praise as a close-quarters fighting knife upon issue to combat units.
The BC-41 was a combined knuckleduster and dagger weapon used by the British Commandos during World War II for close combat and ambushes. Although effective, it was eventually replaced by the Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife. [1]
Throughout World War II, Northrop built roughly 700 P-61s, also known as the Black Widow, which was equipped with four 50-caliber machine guns, and four 20mm cannons, and could carry up to 6,400 ...
Ka-Bar (/ ˈ k eɪ. b ɑːr /; trademarked as KA-BAR) is the contemporary popular name for the combat knife first adopted by the United States Marine Corps in November 1942 as the 1219C2 combat knife (later designated the USMC Mark 2 combat knife or Knife, Fighting Utility), and subsequently adopted by the United States Navy as the U.S. Navy utility knife, Mark 2.