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The Case V-42 Stiletto
In
the summer of 1942 notices were posted on bulletin boards in every
major base throughout Canada and the United States. This notice asked
for volunteers to take part in what was to be called "The most unusual
fighting force in World War II". What was most unusual about them is
that they would be combined in the same unit, a joint United
States/Canadian force! The notice read "VOLUNTEERS WANTED! A special
paratroop unit is being formed. Hazardous duty is involved. A few men
will be selected. Men with experience in mining, forestry, lumbering,
explosives, or outdoor living are invited to apply. Interviews will be
scheduled at Post Headquarters." The mission, Top Secret at the time,
stated that special equipment would be designed and issued to them on a
priority basis. A formal order was written to this effect which was
issued by the Commander-in-Chief, signed by George C. Marshall, Chief
of Staff and authenticated by the signature of Dwight D. Eisenhower,
Assistant Chief of Staff. How is that for authorization? This one
letter was a virtual "Open Sesame" to anything needed by the new
fighting force. As usual they were in need of a good fighting knife.
The
V-42 Stiletto was first envisioned in a sketch by Col. Robert T.
Frederick, Commanding Officer of the new unit, the First Special
Service Force. Col. Frederick, later to rise to Major General
Frederick, was quite an unusual fellow himself. He has had books
written about him, has been portrayed in several movies and had been
described by Churchill himself as "the greatest fighting general of all
time. If we would have had more like him we would have smashed Hitler
in 1942". Some of the "volunteers" sent by the U.S. Army were men who
chose not to "conform" to military life. Most were men who for one
reason or another were not chosen for the newly formed Airborne units.
At the time height and weight restrictions were placed on recruits for
airborne duty. The Col would hear none of this, if hundreds of pounds
of supplies could be dropped by parachute so could men. The physically
and mentally tough training regimen weeded out the real misfits with
the result being hardened men willing to stand up and be counted. The
only prerequisite needed according to Frederick was that the man NEVER
give up, regardless of what he was doing in life, quitters need not
apply. The knife envisioned by Frederick was actually a collaboration
among his staff of the perfect fighting knife. Close quarters combat
instructor of the Force, Dermot Michael "Pat" O'Neill, a former
Sergeant in the Shanghai Municipal Police Force who served with
Fairbairn and Sykes, suggested the blade profile. O'Neill at Fredericks
urging taught all classes using real knives and uncased bayonets.
Occasionally, although not often, a man would get stabbed, cut or
bayoneted in this "live" training. Stitches would be applied and, as
soon as practical, training was resumed. O'Neill and the wounded man
both convinced he would never make that mistake again. Col. Orval J.
Baldwin, Supply Officer of the Force is credited with the skull crusher
pointed pommel idea. This rough sketch, a conglomeration of many ideas,
was then sent to three knife companies for bids, Camillus, Cattaraugus
and Case. The Case knife was personally selected by Col. Frederick
himself. With some improvements on the prototypes they were then
forwarded to the Ordnance Department for testing on a priority basis.
Along with the above mentioned letter this was a mere formality as they
were pushed right through.
Official
Army records from the National Archives show a Quartermaster form dated
Nov. 27, 1942 as a receiving date of the first batch of 1,750 "Knives,
Fighting Commando Type V-42, including Leather Sheath". The actual date
posted for the first distribution of the knives mentioned in another
document was January 1943. In a letter from Case in May of 1969 they
stated that over 3600 V-42's were produced during the War. In my
research I could only find documentation on 3,423 being received by the
U.S. Services. The first 3 being prototypes with bright blades and
smooth handles sent to Col. Frederick for final approval before
production began. The original lot of 1,750 mentioned in the above
document were received in Nov. 1942, 70 in Feb. 1943, 600 in June 1943,
100 in Oct. 1943, and 900 in Nov.1943 for a total of 3,423. The 70
received by the U.S. Navy at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in February 1943
were the only knives sent to a unit or branch other than the First
Special Service Force. This low number produced makes this the rarest
officially authorized standard "production" (they were all hand made at
Case) knife issued to the U.S. Forces in World War II. This also makes
it one of the most sought after U.S. military collectable knives on the
market.
The
blade on the F.S.S.F. Stiletto is 7 5/16" long, blued steel. On the
ricasso is a unique "thumbprint" ground in for proper positioning on a
thrust. This "thumbprint" was to orientate the blade so that the
soldier would hold the knife on edge allowing a thinner profile for
thrusting between the ribs. The blade was hollowground allowing for a
much sharper edge. Some of these knives were repointed in the field as
they were much too sharp and would easily pierce bone, making
extraction very difficult. Shortened blades found today are assumed to
be repointed due to a broken tip, this was not always the case. Many of
the knives were sent home before the actual fighting began by several
Force members, finding one of these mint condition knives today would
be an instant centerpiece to any collection. On the ricasso below the
"thumbprint" CASE is deeply struck. The blade length and the number of
grooves in the "thumbprint" are not always the same as these knives
were all hand made and different craftsmen made the patterns slightly
different.
The
handle was made up of stacked leather washers tightly fitted over the
tang and held in place by the pinned on "Skullcrusher" pommel. The
leather then had fine serrations ground in using a gimping wheel (sort
of a toothed grinding wheel) like that used to cut in the serrations on
the blade. The leather washers themselves were about 1/8" thick, the
first one against the guard being left full size to act as a cushion
during a hard thrust. On the prototypes this had been a thick fiber
spacer, but was quickly broken during testing. The oversized crossguard
meant for use with gloves was 2 11/16" long and also blued. The pointed
"Skullcrusher" pommel was pinned completely through the tang and blued.
This point was somewhat of a nuisance to many wearers. Clothing was
constantly ripped and severe cuts were not uncommon around the rib
area, forearms and hands. A prototype sheath was tried with a full
protective flap covering the pommel but the idea was soon disbanded as
it made the knife too slow to draw in an emergency. The most common
field modification was to round off the point with a file. The finished
overall length of the knife was 12 9/16". With the rich blued finish
and the finely crafted blade it is called by many the most beautiful
looking knife produced during W.W. II.
The
sheath was in the style of the earlier Camillus Raider Stiletto but
much longer. The overall length of the sheath was 20". It is
interesting to note that the original mission for the F.S.S.F. was to
be behind the lines in Commando type raids in Norway, Rumania and
Italy. As much as 70% of Europe was covered by snow in excess of 4
months of the year. The original plan being whomever controlled the
snow controlled 70% of Europe. If you remember in the First World War
cannon fire was used to start massive avalanches in the Alps. Over
40,000 casualties made this something that would be tried again. The
above countries were selected as they contributed the bulk of resources
such as oil and electricity to the German war machine. The sheath was
made extra long to aid in finding the knife when wearing a heavy winter
parka. These sheaths were sewn leather and had 14 rivets much like the
Raider sheath. They also possessed the metal thong eyelet with leather
thong to act as a tiedown to keep the sheath from flopping around on
the wearer. The mouth had eight metal conveyor belt joiners, often
called staples, to prevent cutting during inserting or removing the
knife. Many of the "Forcemen", as they called themselves, had a
distinctive way of wearing their knives. Simply wrap the long belt
attachment part of the sheath around the belt and use the leather thong
to tie it off. This way the sheath resembled a normal length. Many of
them tucked this arrangement behind their .45 holster so either could
be drawn by the strong hand. It also took up less space on an already
overloaded pistol belt. Of the 70 knives delivered to the U.S. Navy all
were sent with the Raider style short sheath. These sheaths were marked
U.S.S. OMAHA and serial numbered. They were for the members of the
"Ships Landing Force". These knives were issued while off the coast of
Florida in 1943. Later in the war the "U.S.S. OMAHA" stamping was
defaced in an effort to prevent identification in case they fell into
enemy hands. Sometime in 1945 these knives were ordered to be thrown
overboard in Philadelphia Harbor. By some strange miracle (read
souvenirs) a few survived and are highly coveted collector items today.
The
First Special Service Force was officially inactivated on December 5,
1944 in Villeneuve-Lobet France. The end came quickly at 2:00 P.M. on
that day, The following quotation is from the official history of the
Force written by it's Intelligence Officer Col. Robert D. Burhans "the
red Force flag with it black dagger on white shield was wound slowly to
its staff and the casing slipped over it." But the Case V-42 lives on
to this day. In the U.S. Special Operations community it is the symbol
of many great achievements. The U.S. Special Forces (Green Berets) use
the V-42 in their Distinctive Insignia, their Unit Crest and in their
shoulder patch. The White Star Training Teams in Laos circa 1960-61
used the V-42 in their Beret patches. Operational Detachment Delta (the
forerunner of todays Delta Force) in Vietnam had many pocket patches
made using the V-42 as a central character. The 7th Special Forces
Group Mobile Training Teams in El Salvador used the V-42 in their
unofficial pocket patches. This is just to name a few of the patches
and crests that use this knife for their central character as a symbol
of stealth and courage. In 1989 the United States Army Special
Operations Command was activated at Ft Bragg N.C. This is the parent
unit of all the special operational forces for the Army. Their shoulder
insignia is a red arrowhead, reminiscent of the First Special Service
Forces insignia, with the Case V-42 as it's only feature. The V-42 has
gone onward to become a symbol of the elite in the U.S. Military. Quite
an accomplishment for a knife.
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