M3 Blade

Country of OriginUnited States
TypeBlade
Length171.000 mm

Contributor:

ww2dbaseThe United States Army introduced the M3 fighting knives in Mar 1943 to replace the Mark 1 knucklebuster-dagger fighting knives that were made starting in 1918. The M3 design was simple and each knife used as little strategic material as possible. Aerial Cutlery Company, Camillus Cutlery Company, H. Boker & Company, Imperial Knife Company, Kinfolks Incorporated, PAL Cutlery Company, Robeson (ShurEdge) Cutlery Company, Utica Cutlery Company, W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company, and others. M3 knives were initially issued to troops, particularly of elite units such as paratroopers and Rangers, who previously were not issued standard bayonets; however, as greater quantities became available by late 1943, distribution became much wider within the United States Army, including the United States Army Air Forces. In Aug 1944, production of the M3 knives ceased, having been made obsolete by their successors, M4 bayonets, which became standardized in Jun 1944. A total of 2,590,247 M3 knives were produced between 1943 and 1944.

Source: Wikipedia ww2dbase

Last Major Revision: Jun 2012

Photographs

Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell awarding the Silver Star medal to Colonel Rothwell H. Brown, Hukawng Valley, northern Burma, 18 Mar 1944Americans at work at a base on Saipan, Mariana Islands, 1945; note M3 Fighting Knife on the non-commissioned officer




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M3 Blade Photo Gallery
Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell awarding the Silver Star medal to Colonel Rothwell H. Brown, Hukawng Valley, northern Burma, 18 Mar 1944
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