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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.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!)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.
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.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
Overstreet aint complaining. So to see kinda liked it.The RAF issued a small knife to Mustang 1 pilots for use in case the "Mae West" inflated in the cockpit.
It was very dangerous, overheated cockpit, misted canopy and many other issues.
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.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
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.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?