RAF Knife or Machete

[Fatboy Coxy]

Hi all, can anyone give me some details as to what knives or machetes were issued to RAF pilots, before and during WW2 and when. In the first instance a knife may well be required to cut parachute cords once landed, be it land or sea, but for units operating in South East Asia, a machete type would be very useful, if they had to parachute in jungle.

 

[SplitRz]

Hi all, can anyone give me some details as to what knives or machetes were issued to RAF pilots, before and during WW2 and when. In the first instance a knife may well be required to cut parachute cords once landed, be it land or sea, but for units operating in South East Asia, a machete type would be very useful, if they had to parachute in jungle.

I once had an old RAF issue dingy/parachute knife: It had a rounded tip (presumably to avoid piercing the dingy), a cork handle and lanyard. Alas, I lost it in a workshop fire. I'll have a little look via Google and see if I can find you a picture.

EDIT - here we go -

 

[SplitRz]

Hi all, can anyone give me some details as to what knives or machetes were issued to RAF pilots, before and during WW2 and when. In the first instance a knife may well be required to cut parachute cords once landed, be it land or sea, but for units operating in South East Asia, a machete type would be very useful, if they had to parachute in jungle.

.... I also have one of these (somewhere upstairs in the loft!)

This was the version being issued in the early 2000s and is designed to be stored in a pocket on a flying suit.

RAF mark iii survival knife

 

[Fatboy Coxy]

I once had an old RAF issue dingy/parachute knife: It had a rounded tip (presumably to avoid piercing the dingy), a cork handle and lanyard. Alas, I lost it in a workshop fire. I'll have a little look via Google and see if I can find you a picture.

EDIT - here we go -

View attachment 736135

Hi SplitRz, thank you for this. I think these may have came as part of the RAF K-type dinghy kit, hence the cork handle.

See RAF k-type dinghy

 

[Fatboy Coxy]

And here is a similar knife, but not for use over sea

See Title: WWII British Air Ministry RAF Aircrew Release Knife by Rodgers : Parade Antiques Online Shop UK | Plymouth, Devon, All our finest items available to purchase worldwide

 

[Fatboy Coxy]

But I also spoke of Machete's, a very different size knife (if it can be called that) and for a much different reason, hacking your way out of the jungles of South East Asia/Burma.

See Original British WWII R.A.F. Airmen's Folding Survival Machete by Butler with Rare Blade Guard - dated 1945

As they say, this is the RAF copy of the USAAF folding machete. The USAAF was introduced sometime in 1942, the RAF must have came sometime afterwards.

I have read somewhere that these were worn strapped to the chest, but cannot verify that.

 

[Fatboy Coxy]

But we also have this Australian one, again I wonder where the pilot wore it?

See Title: Original Australian WWII Royal Australian Air Force Pilot Survival Machete by East Bros with Scabbard

 

[pbehn]

The RAF issued a small knife to Mustang 1 pilots for use in case the "Mae West" inflated in the cockpit.

 

[Snautzer01]

The RAF issued a small knife to Mustang 1 pilots for use in case the "Mae West" inflated in the cockpit.

Overstreet aint complaining. So to see kinda liked it.

 

[pbehn]

Overstreet aint complaining. So to see kinda liked it.

View attachment 736259

It was very dangerous, overheated cockpit, misted canopy and many other issues.

 

[Snautzer01]

Dear i say: there was a relief tube installed for reasons.

 

[Wildcat]

But we also have this Australian one, again I wonder where the pilot wore it?

See Title: Original Australian WWII Royal Australian Air Force Pilot Survival Machete by East Bros with Scabbard

Not sure if this is the same one, but possibly as shown by the pilot on the left? The one on the right doesn't look like the machete you posted.

 

[Fatboy Coxy]

That's a great find Wildcat, thanks!. I believe the photo is of RAAF 457 Sqn, with a spitfire displaying the famous sharks mouth, I wouldn't know the mark.

The pilot on the left does look to be wearing a machete on his lower leg. Is he wearing shoes and gaiters?

The pilot on the right, with flying boots on, looks to have just a straight knife. Would you fly with a knife attached like that, on bailing out it may get ripped off, and I wonder if it might not tangle up in the cockpit when he is seated and parachute on? But for the purpose of cutting himself free of parachute cords, this knife would be ideal.

So, its a black and white photo, will the dark uniforms be blue or green, and the pale uniforms khaki, and what on earth is the guy, third on the left wearing?

 

[ThomasP]

I think the camo uniform the 3rd man from the left has on is a very faded USMC/US Army P42 (ie Pattern 1942) with the brown side out. There were single sided cloth, and double-sided - with the other side being a mix of brown and greens. The darker brown splotches tended to remain visible after the light and medium splotches had faded.

There were other similar patterns (P44 for example) but they tended to be 'busier' with a larger number of smaller splotches.

 

[Wildcat]

That's a great find Wildcat, thanks!. I believe the photo is of RAAF 457 Sqn, with a spitfire displaying the famous sharks mouth, I wouldn't know the mark.

The pilot on the left does look to be wearing a machete on his lower leg. Is he wearing shoes and gaiters?

The pilot on the right, with flying boots on, looks to have just a straight knife. Would you fly with a knife attached like that, on bailing out it may get ripped off, and I wonder if it might not tangle up in the cockpit when he is seated and parachute on? But for the purpose of cutting himself free of parachute cords, this knife would be ideal.

So, its a black and white photo, will the dark uniforms be blue or green, and the pale uniforms khaki, and what on earth is the guy, third on the left wearing?

Yep, 457 squadron while at Borneo. It's a MkVIII Spitfire. The dark uniforms would be jungle greens, lighter ones khaki like you said. The caption to the photo agrees with ThomasP in stating it's a USMC uniform. Not sure where he got it from. Boots and gaiters were pretty common - I think they learned pretty quick that flying boots were no good in the jungle if shot down. Here are a couple of other shots.
First - A typical Beaufighter crew (30 sqn); note machetes on ankles.
second - 13 sqn Ventura crew.

 

[Fatboy Coxy]

Thanks Wildcat, RAAF 457 was in Borneo from about June 1945 according to Wiki.

Your first photo of RAAF 30 Sqn looks like they are inspecting their Beaufighter, presumably looking at flak damage, some sort of press photo. Being as this aircraft was used in the anti shipping role, the Mae West is as important as the machete. They all have a revolver, but I'm not sure how much help that would be comparable to the other two items. Do you know what aircraft is in the background, is it a Douglas Boston?.

Onto the second photo, again late war, the Ventura crew would have been engaged in anti shipping/submarine patrols, a lot of monotonous flying. Interestingly they have different Mae Wests, or is it just they are not inflated. The crewman second left has something attached to his leg, possibly a machete, but I think these guys would more likely find themselves in the drink.

 

[Wildcat]

Hi Coxy.
Crashed aircraft in first pic is indeed a Boston, belonging to 22 sqn. The Ventura crews mainly performed armed reconnaissance missions around the islands north of Australia. If no shipping targets were found they would usually bomb designated island targets. The Mae Wests are different. I'm not an expert here but I believe the Beaufighter crews are wearing British designs while the Ventura crew wears the American style. I have a pic of a Beaufighter crew I'll try and scan for you later today which shows a huge machete.