Mark I Trench Knife - History

History

The Mark I was a development of the earlier U.S. M1917 and the slightly improved M1918 trench knives designed by Henry Disston & Sons of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Both the M1917 and M1918 used a triangular blade and a handle equipped with a guard designed to protect the user's knuckles. By 1918 it was apparent that the M1917 and M1918 designs were too limiting to succeed in their intended role, and a new trench knife design was requested.

On 1 June 1918 a panel of AEF officers conducted an exhaustive field test of various trench knives, including the U.S. M1917, the Hughes trench knife and the standard-issue trench knives of the British and French armies, respectively. The field test was performed to examine the qualities of each knife based on the following criteria: 1. Serviceability - ability to carry one-handed while performing other tasks; 2. Quickness or rapidity of employment in action; 3. Security of grip, in case user was stunned or knocked unconscious; 4. Ease of carrying when crawling in low prone position; 5. Probability of knife being knocked out of hand during a struggle; 6. Suitability of blade weight, length, and shape; and 7. Shape of handle.

Testing confirmed that the existing M1917 and M1918 designs were in need of improvement. Therefore a replacement trench knife designated the U.S. Trench Knife, Mark I was jointly developed by officers of the AEF and the Engineering Division of U.S. Ordnance. This knife was entirely different from the M1917, bearing a flat double-edged blade, a unique metal scabbard, and a cast-bronze handle with built-in guard for individual fingers. The AEF stated that the Mark I was a combination of all of the best features of the trench knives evaluated, and the Mark I's double-edged blade was taken directly from the Couteau Poignard Mle 1916 dit Le Vengeur, a trench knife design then currently in service with the French Army.

With the end of hostilites in World War I, large scale wartime contracts for Mark I knife production were cancelled. Most Mark I knives that were produced by U.S. manufacturers were never issued, and remained in Army storage stateside. During World War II, stocks of Mark I knives were released for issue to Army units with a need for a close-combat fighting knife, though in terms of actual numbers the Mark I did not see widespread use during the war. Of those Mark I knives released for service, most were issued in 1942 and 1943 to soldiers serving in elite Army Ranger and airborne formations, though some Mark I knives were used by Marine units in 1942 and 1943, in particular marines serving with the four Marine Raider battalions. Army and Marine field reports concerning the effectiveness of the Mark I knife were mixed; some men liked the design, while others complained that Mark I was poorly balanced, with a relatively thin blade that was prone to snapping at the blade/handle junction, particularly when employed for utility tasks. Other reports noted that the Mark I's large 'brass-knuckle' fingerguard handle was expensive to produce and limited the number of useful fighting grip positions, while preventing the knife from being carried in a conventional leather sheath or scabbard. The Mark I also came in for criticism from Marine Raiders for its poor balance, relatively slow deployment speed and limited quick-kill penetration capability when used in an offensive role (the Raiders would eventually adopt a combat knife with a stiletto-style blade patterned after the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife). Additionally, U.S. war planners had announced a need for a general-purpose trench knife that could fulfill both the fighting and utility roles, while at the same time conserving strategic metal resources.

The Mark I trench knife was replaced in Army service by the M3 trench knife in 1943, 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.