There have been countless books and articles written about the various small arms used by the United States Marine Corps during the Second World War. They include such iconic examples as the M1903 Springfield rifle, M1 Garand, M1 carbine, Thompson submachine gun and Browning Automatic Rifle, just to name a few. Though much more basic and compact, knives issued during the war were sometimes just as essential to the Marines’ survival, and, while they have not been covered as extensively, their design and use remain interesting and important parts of the story.
At the time of the Armistice in November 1918, the standard American combat knife was the M1918 Mark I “Trench Knife” that was characterized by a massive “brass knuckle” handle. Although manufactured too late to have seen active use in World War I, approximately 139,000 remained on hand after the war. At the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, the M1918 Mark I was the only military “combat knife” available. The immediate demand resulted in the M1918 Mark I knives being taken from inventory and issued, primarily to Army paratroopers and Rangers. However, while apparently not standardized by the Marine Corps, some M1918 Mark I knives were acquired and used for training and in early Pacific campaigns including Guadalcanal. Since the supply of these knives was being rapidly depleted, it was imperative that additional knives be obtained as soon as possible.
The only viable course of action was to acquire existing commercial knives until standardized knives could be put into production. A May 1942 Marine Corps memo discussed the value of sheath knives:
“Sheath knives are recommended as weapons and general utility tools. They are considered of great value in the field as supplemental to the bayonet which in its present form is not quite suitable as a cutting weapon nor well designed for close-in fighting. The sheath knife is not only a weapon for use under cover of darkness but also is invaluable in landing operations where lines must frequently be cut and for operations through heavy growth that must be cut away silently. Our own paratroopers and raider battalions as well as the Japanese have found this piece of equipment indispensable.”
It should be noted that the Marines were not the only users of most of the knives to be discussed. These, and numerous other types of commercial knives, were also acquired for Army and Navy personnel either via direct procurement under contract, requisition or purchase order, including “unit purchases” for specific military outfits. Sizeable numbers were also privately purchased by servicemen at their own expense from civilian retail stores or other outlets before deployment overseas. As stated by one Marine: “The final hours before (departing for Guadalcanal), we were employed in checking personal equipment, sharpening the knives we had bought in Jacksonville and San Diego and the regulation bayonets.”
While it is not possible to cover every type of commercial knife “drafted” into USMC service during World War II, the following are among the most notable:
Western Parachutist’s Knife
In early 1941, the Marine Corps began the formation of airborne units. A knife for use by paratroopers was needed, and bids for such knives were requested. Nine firms responded, and the submission by Western States Cutlery of its No. 53C knife was selected. The same pattern knife was listed in later company sales brochures as the “W-31.” The knife was designated by the Marines as the “Knife Parachutists.” Some 2,750 were manufactured under USMC contract. The compact and well-made knife had a 4 1⁄8" blade and an overall length of 8 5⁄8". The only difference from the knives made for the civilian market was the “USMC” marking on the blade.
The knives were intended for parachute training purposes and were not supposed to leave the stateside bases, at least not “officially,” and few genuine examples exist today.
Camillus No. 5665 “Hunting Knife”
The first knife purchased for issuance to the 1st Raider Battalion was Camillus Cutlery Co.’s Model No. 5665 “Hunting Knife.” The knife had a 5" blade and was 8 7⁄8" overall. Large numbers of this knife pattern were procured by the Army Air Corps during World War II for use in emergency survival kits.
In April 1942, 1,000 Model No. 5665 knives were shipped to Quantico for issuance to the 1st Raider Battalion. While better for their purposes than the M1918 Mark I Trench Knife, the Camillus knife was still not quite what the Raiders had in mind.
Western L-77 Stiletto
Another commercial knife procured for the Raiders early during the war had more of a “fighting knife” configuration than the utilitarian Camillus No. 5665 “Hunting Knife.” This knife, the Western “L-77 Stiletto,” had a 7" single-edge blade, an overall length of 11" and was closer to the Raiders’ concept of a fighting knife. However, the knife was manufactured for the civilian market and not designed to endure the rigors of combat and proved to have a proclivity for damage. Regardless, the L-77 knives saw a surprising amount of overseas combat duty.
Western G46-6 “Shark Knife”
The Western G46-6 “Shark Knife” was another popular commercial knife acquired during World War II. It had a 6" blade and was 10 1⁄8" in overall length. Government contracts were made with the Army Air Forces and Navy Bureau of Aeronautics for the Shark Knife, but a significant number also made their way to Marine ground forces. As was the case with the L-77, many Shark Knives were privately purchased by servicemen.
Marine Raider “Gung Ho” Knife
One of most unusual and famous of the commercial knives acquired by the Marines was the so-called “‘Gung Ho’ Knife,” which was only procured by the 2nd Raider Battalion. Technically, the “Gung Ho” Knife was actually a small machete, the Collins No. 18, that had been in Army Air Corps survival kits as early as 1934.
Lieutenant Colonel Evans Carlson, commanding officer of the 2nd Raiders, believed the knife could be useful in jungle combat operations. His executive officer, Maj. James Roosevelt (FDR’s son), was instrumental in obtaining 1,000 No. 18s from Collins in early 1942.
The robust knife had a 9 1/2" blade and an overall length of 14 1/4". It represented a good compromise as a compact, light machete for cutting jungle undergrowth and as a “utility knife” for digging holes, opening ration tins, ammunition boxes and the like. It could also serve as a formidable fighting knife when necessary.
The Collins No. 18 was dubbed the “Gung Ho” Knife, which is Chinese for “work together,” a phrase Carlson picked up from his time in China during the 1930s. The term gained fame in America with the 1943 motion picture “Gung Ho!: The Story of Carlson’s Makin Island Raiders.”
The “Gung Ho” Knife was extremely popular with the 2nd Raiders and was something of a status symbol since it was only issued to that unit. Knives of a similar pattern were made by several companies during the war as survival machetes, but the Collins knife was the only one to be issued as a utility or combat knife. The Collins No. 18 knives are often referred to today as the “V-44,” which is incorrect nomenclature as the actual V-44 was a non-folding machete made by W. R. Case & Sons in 1944 (two years after the Raiders acquired the Collins No. 18s). But, over the years, the name somehow became connected to the Collins No. 18. Regardless, whether it’s called the “Gung Ho,” the Collins No. 18 or the V-44, this rugged, multi-purpose knife will always be inexorably linked to Carlson’s Raiders.
The U.S. Marine Raider Stiletto
After the lack of satisfaction with most of the civilian knives (the “Gung Ho” Knife notwithstanding), the Raiders were more desirous than ever to acquire an effective and deadly fighting knife of their own.
In 1942, a design based on the British Fairbairn-Sykes “Commando knife” was the first knife officially designed and adopted by the Marine Corps as a combat weapon. The Camillus Cutlery Co. was selected to manufacture the new knife, which was referred to as the “U.S. Marine Raider Stiletto.” It had a 7 1/4"-long blade and an overall length of 12 1/4".
Camillus made a total of 14,370 Marine Corps Raider Stilettos. In addition to the Raiders, some were also issued to Marine parachute units. Unlike the other U.S. military knives previously procured, which, to varying degrees, were useful as both combat weapons and utility knives, the Marine Raider Stiletto was designed with a single purpose in mind. As stated in Our Kind Of War:
“… the Stiletto [was] not designed to be used for opening ration cans or as a pry bar to open cases. After all, the knife was designed for one purpose—killing the enemy—and its design was not compromised to also include a variety of other uses normally associated with a machete or a utility knife. No, the Stiletto was a finely designed—almost delicate—single-purpose weapon …”
Paradoxically, the Stiletto’s greatest strengths were also the source of its greatest weaknesses. The virtues of the knife, such as the thin profile of the sharp double-edged blade and the needle-like tip, which made it such an effective killing instrument, also rendered it unsuitable for almost any sort of utility use. If handled carefully and used for its intended purpose, the “almost delicate” nature of the knife was not an issue.
Not many of the 14,000+ Marine Raider Stilettos survived the ravages of war and time. Today, they are treasured collectibles and one of the most coveted of all U.S. military edged weapons. The book Our Kind Of War pointed out the irony that: “Raiders now are realizing that the knives they lost, traded along the way or still use for garden digging are, in most cases, more valuable than some of the Samurai swords they brought home.”
U.S. Marine Corps Knife, Fighting/Utility, 1219C2, or “Ka-Bar”
The final knife to be discussed has been associated with the Marine Corps for eight decades. On Nov. 23, 1942, procurement of a standardized knife designated as the “Knife, Fighting/Utility” was approved. It was based on a design submitted to the Marines by the Union Cutlery Co. and had not been manufactured for the civilian market. The sturdy and well-balanced knife had a 7" blade, an overall length of 12" and a handle composed of leather washers secured by a steel pommel. In addition to Union Cutlery, these knives were manufactured during World War II by PAL Blade Co., Robeson Cutlery Co. and Camillus Cutlery Co.
The first shipment to the Marines in the South Pacific was on Jan. 27, 1943, and consisted of 2,100 knives manufactured by the Union Cutlery Co. Union Cutlery had trademarked the name “Ka-Bar,” and since Union Cutlery-made knives were the first ones in the hands of the Marines, the name stuck; soon, the knife, regardless of its maker, was universally known as the Ka-Bar. Approximately 966,000 were made during World War II. A knife, designated as the “Fighting Knife, Mark 2,” was procured by the U.S. Navy during the war, and, except for the markings, it was essentially identical to the Marine Corps Ka-Bar.
The Ka-Bar knives soon proved to be very popular with the Marines as both weapons and tools, which was in keeping with the “Fighting/Utility” designation. While many other types of knives were used by the Marines, the Ka-Bar will forever be thought of as the Marine Corps knife of the Second World War.
The inherent excellence of the Ka-Bar is evidenced by the fact that it was put back into production in 1961 and is still issued to Marines today. It remains in production and available to the other branches of our armed forces and is also one of the top private-purchase knives in the PX/BX system.
The Marine Corps knives of World War II are popular with collectors and military weapons enthusiasts today. They were arguably the most versatile piece of equipment issued to Marines for training, for field use or, if necessary, wielded in deadly hand-to-hand combat. They are sometimes overlooked but should never be forgotten for the important roles they played during the war.
