M3 trench knife

The M3 Fighting Knife
Original example produced by the Camillus Cutlery Co.
TypeFighting knife
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1943–1945
Used byUS Military
Wars
Production history
Designed1943
Manufacturer
  • Aerial Cutlery Co.
  • W.R. Case & Sons Co.
  • Imperial Knife Co.
  • Pal Blade and Tool Co.
  • Camillus Cutlery Co.
  • Robeson Cutlery Co.
  • Kinfolks, Inc.
  • Utica Cutlery Co.
  • H. Boker & Sons Co.
ProducedMarch 1943-August 1944
No. built2,590,247
Variants
Specifications
Length11.75 in (29.8 cm)
Blade length6.75 in (17.1 cm)
Blade typeSpear point
Scabbard/sheathM6, M8, & M8A1

The M3 trench knife or M3 fighting knife was an American military combat knife first issued in March 1943. The M3 was originally designated for issue to soldiers, not otherwise equipped with a bayonet.[1][2][3] However, it was particularly designed for use by forces in need of a close combat knife, such as Airborne Units and Army Rangers, so these units received priority for the M3 at the start of production.[2][3][4][5] As more M3 knives became available in 1943 and 1944, the knife was issued to other soldiers such as Army Air Corps crewmen and soldiers not otherwise equipped with a bayonet, including soldiers issued the M1 carbine or a submachine gun such as the M3 submachine gun "grease gun".[1][2]

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.[10][11] In August 1944, the M3 fighting knife evolved into the M4 bayonet for the M1 carbine with the addition of a bayonet ring to the hilt and a locking mechanism in the pommel.

  1. ^ a b "Edged Weapons: US M3 Knife".
  2. ^ a b c Trzaska, Frank, (1996), U.S. Fighting Knives of World War II, Chapter VII: M3 Trench Knife, OKCA (May 1996)
  3. ^ a b Catalog of Standard Ordnance Items, Washington, D.C: U.S. Army Ordnance Publications (1943)
  4. ^ a b Cassidy, William L. (1997), The Complete Book of Knife Fighting, ISBN 0-87364-029-2, ISBN 978-0-87364-029-9 (1997), pp. 47-48
  5. ^ a b Whitman, L., New Army Trench Knife, Army & Navy Journal, Vol. 80, 6 February 1943, p. 649
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference auto was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference SO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference auto1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference CN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Chambers, John W., OSS Training in the National Parks and Service Abroad in World War II, Washington, D.C., U.S. National Park Service (2008), p. 191
  11. ^ Brunner, John W., OSS Weapons (2nd ed.), Williamstown, N.J.: Phillips Publications (2005), pp. 68-72