Stiletto dagger
The V-42 stiletto was a stylus and combat knife issued during WWII to the First Special Service Force (1st SSF or FSSF, also known as the Devil's Brigade), an American / Canadian commando unit.
Based on the Fairbairn - Sykes Commando Knife designed by William E. Fairbairn and Eric A. Sykes, the Commando Combat Knife, Type V-42, used a narrow profile double-edged stiletto blade made of high carbon steel. The V-42 was primarily designed by FSSF officers, including its commanding officer, Lt. Col. Robert T. Frederick, who wanted a close combat knife. The design of the blade was attributed to Colonel Frederick, who saw the Fairbairn - Sykes combat knife while serving in Britain. While the V-42 had a double-edged blade similar to the Fairbairn - Sykes knife, the V-42 has a cross section with hollow concave blade facets, unlike the flat cross section of the Fairbairn's four-sided diamond. The narrower profile of the V-42 stiletto blade was designed to optimize penetration when pushing; it could easily penetrate helmet and GI steel liner with one push. With its relatively thin and narrow blade, the V-42 was designed from the ground up for use as a combat knife and was prone to breakage when used for utility tasks such as opening ration boxes or ammunition crates. Unusually for military combat knives of the day, the V-42's double edges were double-hollow for increased cutting performance. The addition of the skull-crushing pommel was attributed to the contribution of Major Orval J. Baldwin, the FSSF supply officer. The thumb groove on the V-42's ricasso was designed to promote a flat grip with the thumb on the crosshead, which positioned the double-edged blade horizontally. In this way, a user can cut an opponent with a forehand or backhand, while ensuring that their blade slides between the ribs when used in a push or stab. The V-42 was made in the USA by WR Case & Sons Cutlery Co. After a series of leg injuries during training, the original leather sheath was reinforced with metal in later versions designed to prevent the needle-shaped tip from entering the sheath. Since the force was originally formed to fight in cold weather, the sheath was designed for a long time, so as to hang under the bottom of a GI parka.
After receiving the designs of the knife proposed by its designers, prototypes of the V-42 were presented by three Knifemaking companies - Camillus Couvert Co., Couvert Case and Cattaraugus Couvert Co.. Captain Dermot Michael "Pat" O'Neill, a close combat instructor with the First Special Service Force and a former detective sergeant with the Shanghai Municipal Police (the same police force in which Fairbairn and Sykes served), recalled that Colonel Frederick had personally chosen the Case prototype and gave permission for its acquisition. First released in 1942, the V-42 was the standard combat knife issued to the FSSF, whose members generally referred to it as the Force Knife or the V-42 Stiletto. All Force members received extensive training in its use, although only members of the Force Combat Echelon received their own V-42 knife. In combat, the V-42 proved to be an excellent pushing weapon that could easily penetrate leather and heavy clothing, although the tip of its needle occasionally stuck to bone after a deep push, making the knife difficult to remove. It was claimed that some members of the Force re-tipped their knives to mitigate this, but Baldwin said the differences were due to variations in production as the knives were hand-ground and largely hand-made. the hand. Some 70 V-42 knives were shipped with US Marine Corps Raider short knife sheaths. This was confirmed by Case Cutlery shipping records, which indicate that some 70 V-42 knives were purchased by the US Navy and sent to the Brooklyn Navy Depot in late 1942 and early 1943. The knives were issued in 1943 to crew serving in the USS Omaha Landing Force and Armed Boat Party while the ship was off the coast of Florida at the start of a war patrol of the South Atlantic, at the search for German commercial raiders and blockade runners. While the USS Omaha encountered German blockade runners, there was no recorded case of using the V-42 against an opponent in combat. The 70 V-42s purchased by the US Navy were the only known V-42 knives sent to a unit or branch outside of the First Special Service Force. Paratroopers and US Army Rangers also carried some of these knives.
The V-42 weighs 7 ounces (0.20 kg), with a 7.250 inch (18.42 cm) or 7.125 inch (18.10 cm) long blade and a 5.5 inch (14 cm) handle, for a total length of approximately 12.5 inches (32 cm). Its features included a double hollow-bottom stiletto-type blade fitted with a thumbprint choil or ricasso designed to facilitate a flat or modified saber grip, and a leather hilt with a sharp, skull-crunching pommel ( butt). A source indicates that the military placed five separate orders totaling 3,423 V-42 combat knives from November 1942 to November 1943. However, Case factory records indicate that approximately 3,000 V-42 knives were actually used. products and that only one shipment of 1,750 knives was sent to the FSSF was recorded by the Force Supply Officer.