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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. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] It was developed as a close combat weapon for soldiers attacking enemy trenches during the First World War .
The M3 trench knife was developed as a replacement for the World War I-era U.S. Mark I trench knife, primarily to conserve strategic metal resources. [6] [7] [4] [8] [9] [5] The M3 would also replace the Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife or OSS dagger in U.S. service in 1944.
The Mark I trench knife is an American trench knife designed by officers of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) for use in World War I. It has a 6.75 in (17.1 cm) double-edged dagger blade useful for both thrusting and slashing strokes, unlike previous U.S. trench knives such as the M1917 and M1918.
This singleness of purpose originally distinguished the fighting knife from the field knife, fighting utility knife, or in modern usage, the tactical knife. The tactical knife is a knife with one or more military features designed for use in extreme situations, which may or may not include a design capability as a fighting or combat weapon. [ 6 ]
The U.S. Army adopted the M3 Trench Knife in 1943 as its standard combat knife. [3] The M3 replaced the earlier World War I-vintage Mark I trench knife in combat service. [ 3 ] The M3 was a true combat knife, as it was designed solely for military use and was primarily intended as a fighting knife, though some compromises were made in the ...
Mark 1 trench knife: Knife United States: M3 trench knife: Knife United States: Ka-Bar: Knife United States: V-42 stiletto: Dagger United States: United States Marine Raider stiletto: Dagger United States: Bolo knife: Knife Philippines: Used by units in the Philippines
Like its predecessor, the M5 bayonet for the M1 Rifle, the M6 was intended to serve additional roles as a combat knife and utility knife. The basic blade design was like the M4, M5, and later M7 bayonets, based on the World War II designed M3 Trench Knife. [2] The overall length of the M6 is 11.75 in (29.8 cm), with a blade 6.75 in (17.1 cm) long.
U.S. M1917 "Knuckle Duster" trench knife and leather sheath of World War I. Standard practice was to creep slowly up on the sentries guarding a small sector of an enemy front line trench (looking for the glow of cigarettes in the dark or listening for conversations) then kill them as quietly as possible.