- U.S. Marine Raider Stiletto
The U.S. Marine Raider Stiletto was a
stiletto issued to theMarine Raiders and 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion duringWorld War II .Background
Knives previously available to the
United States Marine Corps (USMC) were theU.S. Mark I Trench Knife , issued duringWorld War I fortrench warfare . The "knuckle duster"hilt s of these knives were cumbersome and the Mark I was expensive to produce as the hilt contained nearly one pound ofbrass . These knives could not be held in the "fencing-grip" position, the preferred position for the thrust. In addition, the marines had theKA-BAR , which is a combination fighting/utility knife .What was required by
commando s like the Marine Raiders was a dagger designed solely forknife fight ing, but none were available that met the requirements.History
The history of the U.S. Marine Raider Stiletto begins at the Commando Training Centre, in
Achnacarry, Scotland . TheFairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife was already in use at thetraining centre, before the Marine Raiders arrived for training. During the design phase for the U.S. Marine Raiders Stiletto, it was natural to pattern the stiletto after the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife.The U.S. Marine Raider Stiletto was the first knife in United States Marine Corps history to be designed by a U.S. Marine Corps officer, the then
Lieutenant Colonel Clifford H. Shuey , who retired as aBrigadier General and was formerly in charge of the Engineer Division atHeadquarters Marine Corps . The knife was designed in1942 and officially issued to the Marines. [ [http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/usmc42-1.txt The Original U.S. Marine Corps Knives of World War II] ]The new knife was manufactured by the
Camillus Cutlery Company with 15,000 knives produced; a relatively small number compared to the 2.5million U.S. M-3 Trench Knives issued.It is known that Scout groups of the 1st Marine Division were issued the stiletto and some members of the
1st Marine Parachute Battalion creatively acquired them, bybarter andtrade or by 'liberation' from the Quartermaster stores.pecifications
The U.S. Marine Raider Stiletto was similar to the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife. Both were designed hilt heavy, to lie in the
hand , to prevent dropping the stiletto. Both had a tapered, double-edge blade with stiletto sharp tip anddiamond shaped cross section, sharpened on both cutting edges all the way to theoval crossguard . They both had a slender symmetrical grip of "Coca-Cola bottle " shape and both weighed the same 1.5 lb (680 g).The primary difference was that the U.S. Marine Raider Stiletto hilt was a one-piece construction, die-cast directly onto the blade tang, which is the extension of the blade shoulder, concealed by the knife grip.
The stiletto hilt was die cast using
zinc aluminum alloy , which exhibited the desirable characteristics of sharp casting, low shrinkage, low cost and availability; however, it has been discovered that thezinc ion s in this alloy have a tendency to leach out, leaving themetal brittle. As a result more than half of the few Raider Stilettos still in existence today have very fine hilt cracks or entire portions of the hilt missing with pieces having simply flaked off. This decay can be prevented by coating the hilt with vaseline.The stiletto blade was approximately one-quarter
inch longer than the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife and considerably thinner. It is believed that thinner design was a manufacturing compromise, rather than an attempt to increase the effectiveness of the blade.Manufacturing
The Marine Raider Stiletto blade was "blanked" or stamped out of
steel sheet stock. Had a thickersheet metal gauge been used, it would have been more costly. In addition, it would have required more steel, a commodity, which had to be conserved during the war. The flat knife blank was then machined to thediamond cross section.By comparison the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife was more expensive to make, but stronger. It was drop forged to shape, a process, which strengthens the steel, then hand ground to final finish.
heath
Within the same basic model, four different variants of the Marine Raider
sheath have been noted and identified. These variants include the four combinations of with and without steel staples at thethroat portion of the sheath and with and without steel tip plates (1.75 in by 2 in), front and back of the sheath to prevent the sharp tip from piercing thescabbard and injuring the wearer.The purpose of the row of staples at the throat was to prevent the sharp knife from slashing through the sheath. Unfortunately, these staples could severely scar the stiletto blade. It is believed that these sheath variants evolved by trial, as the late issues had both staples and plates.
Usage
The U.S. Marine Raider Stiletto was designed for one purpose, killing the enemy and its design was not compromised. The stiletto was a finely designed, almost delicate, single-purpose weapon, which did not include a variety of other tasks normally associated with a
machete orutility knife .The
KA-BAR was and still is an excellent all around, multi-purpose utility and fighting knife, but when it comes to the thrust to a vital portion of thehuman body , the slender straight blade design of the stiletto is more efficient, concentrating more force than a broad bellied blade, such as abowie knife .Marine Raiders were instructed not to use their stiletto for throwing because once the knife was thrown; the Raider would no longer have a knife to use in
combat .USMC
Major General Oscar F. Peatross a veteran of the famous,Makin Island raid and author of the book, "Bless 'em All: The Raider Marines of World War II" ISBN 0965232506 recalled about the stiletto:Due to the thin tip, even thinner than the tip of the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife, the stiletto was not designed to be used for opening ration cans or as a pry bar to open cases.
The Marine Raiders found they could fit the
sheath behind the standard issueM1911 pistol holster by inserting the sheath body between the holster body and belt attachment flap and tying the tip of the sheath and holster together with the tie-down thong. This gave them more room on their web belt and made the pistol and stiletto available to the right hand.1st Canadian Parachute Battalion
The 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion was issued the U.S. Marine Raider Stiletto. Their U.S. made stiletto was identical to the Raiders except it had a parkerized
blade and thehilt without the U.S.M.C. scroll and maker's name etched on the blade. [ [http://www.militaryfightingknives.com/collection/e35.jpgMilitary Fighting Knives - Canadian version of Raider Stiletto] ] It is believed that as part of the original production run; 500 parkerized units were manufactured. [ [http://bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net/weapons.htm Weapons used by 1 Canadian Parachute battalion] ]Roy C. Rushton who served as asniper with the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion reported about the stiletto:Collectors
As the U.S. Marine Raider Stiletto was the first Marine-designed and Marine-issued knife, it was issued to a special unit. The stiletto is one of the
rare st knives in theworld ofmilitary collecting , existing specimens are extremely expensive on the collector's market.ee also
*
List of daggers
*V-42 Stiletto References
Further reading
*Buerlein, Robert. (2002). "Allied Military Fighting Knives: And The Men Who Made Them Famous". Paladin Press. ISBN 1581602901
*Flook, Ron. (1999). "British and Commonwealth Military Knives". Howell Press Inc. ISBN 1574270923
*Walker, Greg. (1993). "Battle Blades: A Professional's Guide To Combat/Fighting Knives". Paladin Press. ISBN 0873647327External links
* [http://www.usmarineraiders.org/ usmarineraiders.org]
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