USM3 Trench Knife
When the USA entered the war on December 7, 1941, the American army was not the one that we were going to know at the time of the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944. In terms of certain equipment and a part of its material, it is like coming out of the First World War, knives are no exception to the rule. Daggers such as the US Mark 1 are still in service and in too small a quantity. To compensate for the recurring lack of combat knives, the Ministry of War and the Ordnance Department will first turn to the various knife manufacturers, fortunately very numerous in the United States. Taken by the time, they will draw on the catalogs of the manufacturers of the already existing models which they will buy under contract. These knives will mostly be Hunting Knives. Towards the end of 1942, the US Army on the one hand, the US Navy and the USMC on the other hand, will look at a knife for military purposes and will establish each of their sides, a Specifications. At that time, the maker AERIAL in Marinette, Wisconsin had a design knife project. This project will be modified at the level of the guard and the handle and this prototype will participate in the tests of December 1942. It will be adopted at the beginning of the year 1943 by the US Army under the name of M3 and the Ordnance Department will provide a specification for the various manufacturers who will be contracted.
Ordnance Department catalog of 1943:
“The M3 Trench Knife was developed to meet the need for modern warfare in hand-to-hand combat. Although intended to equip all soldiers who do not have a bayonet, it has been specially designed for designed for shock units such as Paratroopers and Rangers. "
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The US M3 Trench Knife has a total length of 30cm. The blade has a length of 17 cm (+/- 0.2 cm) with a counter edge of 9 cm and a thickness of 0.4 cm at its thickest part. The blade is Stiletto in shape but quite wide and with a counter edge. The weight of the knife is approximately 240 grams. The US M3 will be manufactured from March 1943 to August 1944, its production will cease with the arrival of the USM4 bayonet for the USM1 rifle in May 1944.
The Marine Corps (USMC) will reject the US M3 that did not meet its own specifications. The Marines wanted a combat dagger but also a general-purpose dagger and they adopted the Union Cutlery KA-BAR in November 1942.
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Manufacturers: Quantities
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IMPERIAL: 854.015
UTICA: 655.230
CAMILLUS: 404.109
CASE: 300.465
KINFOLKS: 135.548
PAL: 121,131
AERIAL: 51.784
RCCO: 36.575
BOKER: 31,300
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MARKINGS
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At the start of production, the markings were on the blade with the model (USM3), the manufacturer's name (Ex .: Camillus) and the year (1943). From the end of 1943, the markings on the blade only included the model and the name of the manufacturer. The decision of the Ordnance Department to stop the markings on the blade, supposed to weaken it and to switch to the markings on the guard, would have been taken in November 1943. The markings on the blade disappeared and only the indication of the model and the manufacturer , sometimes for short, were engraved on the hilt. In fact, due to the time it took to set up the tools in the factory, the USM3 daggers with a marking on the guard would not have appeared on the ground until May 1944. We can find original USM3 daggers without no marking or with both a marking on the guard and on the blade. For double-branded models, these are copies assembled during the transition period with the guard already marked and blades in stock, also marked. For models without any markings, these are models assembled with new blades and old guards. We cannot really speak of factory defects, because in the case of a war production, we do not check a part for a marking defect. All USM3s were supposed to receive the Ordnance Department's check mark, the Ordnance Bomb (or Flamminf Bomb), on the pommel. This will be the case except for the M3 from the manufacturer RCCO, which will have the 2 crossed barrels and the toothed wheel on the guard as a replacement. This type of punch was normally reserved for firearms. For the manufacturer Case, we can find on the pommel either the Ordnance Bomb, a kind of crescent moon specific to Case, or no marking. The other 7 manufacturers will all affix the Ordnance Bomb to the pommel, but placed differently depending on the manufacturer.
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From the book "Les Couteaux et Poignards US 1917-1945."
Patrick richard
Christian Mery