MC-1 question. How was it carried?

[Misfit 45]

Hello,

I know that the M-2 paratrooper knife was carried in the chest pocket specifically designed to carry it. Someone recently on this forum mentioned that the orange MC-1 in Viet Nam was carried in an inner thigh pocket that was long enough to carry the knife with the shroud cutter OPEN! It makes absolutely perfect sense, since upon deployment, the lanyard string could be pulled out and the hook would be "at the ready" instantly. On the knife I have, I noticed that the hook does not snag the pocket as you might think.

Does anyone have confirmation on this method of carry?

Marv

[Misfit 45]

Hi I just remembered where I saw this information. http://www.colonialknifecorp.com/Military_...24_history.html

 

Now, does anyone know when these flight suits had this inner thigh pocket? Was it earlier than Viet Nam, like 1957 when the MC-1 came out? How long was this method of carry utilized?

Marv

[sactroop]

I'm sure this is how they were carried. Can't speak to pre-Vietnam. My direct experience was 74-77. IMHO the thigh pocket was around prior to that but how close to the introduction of the U.S. Air Force contract I don't know. I will say that many crew members carried them fully closed in the thigh pocket. Maybe a lack of training or maybe they were nervous about a sharp edge being exposed down there. :think:

 

The Colonial 724 is a good redesign of the original MC-1. Much less play in the blade. I wish I could run across one.

[sactroop]

Marv, I found your answer. It's in Franks Military knives a Reference Book page 234. An article he wrote back in 97.

"The inner thigh pocket was added to most flight suits in mid-1957."

:thumbsup:

[Misfit 45]

Awesome! That would coincide with the introduction of the hook. Great information!!

Thanks.

Marv

[wleoff]

Like this......

 

[Misfit 45]

Like this......

 

That looks like it would be attached to a jump pack (probably not the correct nomenclature) or attached to a life raft. Was this actually strapped to a pilot's or paratrooper's leg?

Marv

[wleoff]

Marv,

The lanyard is only 14" long and is permanently sewed to the pouch. I would assume then, since the lanyard is so short, that the pouch was worn on the arm of the hand that used the cutter. There is no company name on the cutter, only the number "62D4267" in ink. On the pouch are inked the numbers "98750-60C6037-70133 3/92." I would assume that "3/92" is a date, which would put it in the first Gulf War time frame. I've had it for fifteen or twenty years.

[SKIPH]

Hey Gang! Cole's Book III has a drawing that is dated 1968, and states they were no longer used. If you take a close look at the pouch design there are two rows of eight eye holes. I believe the pouch was attached to the parachute riser by lacing (like a shoe) the holes together. Then, stuffed into the parachute pack. Once deployed, this would put the knife in a good position for the jumper to reach up and cut the lines. With the weight of the jumper in a tree landing, it would aid in cutting out quickly. The only time I ever saw these knives on active duty was when the post skydiving clubs were selling them to club members, for around $5. That was in 1979. I don't recall orange pouches, which makes me believe they were geared toward aircrews. Never saw , or heard of one on an army parachute. SKIP

[Misfit 45]

I'd like to get back to the MC-1. Just to clarify, the pilot was the only one to have the MC-1 knife in the inner thigh pocket. The paratroopers would have their combat knives or bayonets to use, so they likely did not use an MC-1. The pilot was not expecting to jump therefore his tool, the MC-1, had to be very light, yet always ready.

 

Do I have it right, so far??

 

The exception that I know of is information I have from an avid WWII collector whose father was a paratrooper in WWII. He showed me the jump gear his dad used which included the shirt with the chest pocket for the M2 knife.

 

Next question: was the MC-1 just an Air Force tool, or were Naval Aviators issued them as well?

 

Another question: Since I see pictures of pilots with the Jet Pilot Survival knife right on their chest, why would they need the MC-1 in the first place

 

Thanks for the help.

Marv

 

[SKIPH]

Marv- I got some info, from observation during 20 years in the US Army, on the MC-1. I spent no time around Navy aviators, and can't speak for them, but would expect that the MC-1 was available to them also. The army units I served in had MC-1s, but unit supply kept them under lock and key, for obvious reasons, so they weren't in general issue. Guys did have them. USAF, and Army aviation crews had them, pilots, and crew chiefs, and load masters, everyone. Carried in the leg pocket, with the dummy cord attached. As far as carried in conjunction with the JPK on survival vests, they had both. Army helicopter crews had both. USAF, I say fast movers, if they had to punch out, equipment gets torn off due to high rates of speed during A/C exit. The JPK can come off very easy, if it doesn't have an additional tie down. Again, this was from personal experience and observation. SKIP

[Misfit 45]

Marv- I got some info, from observation during 20 years in the US Army, on the MC-1. I spent no time around Navy aviators, and can't speak for them, but would expect that the MC-1 was available to them also. The army units I served in had MC-1s, but unit supply kept them under lock and key, for obvious reasons, so they weren't in general issue. Guys did have them. USAF, and Army aviation crews had them, pilots, and crew chiefs, and load masters, everyone. Carried in the leg pocket, with the dummy cord attached. As far as carried in conjunction with the JPK on survival vests, they had both. Army helicopter crews had both. USAF, I say fast movers, if they had to punch out, equipment gets torn off due to high rates of speed during A/C exit. The JPK can come off very easy, if it doesn't have an additional tie down. Again, this was from personal experience and observation. SKIP

Thanks Skip, first hand information is always the most interesting. I would guess the obvious reason of which you speak, is that they would just "disappear".

 

Thanks again,

Marv

[Sabrejet]

I've got a 70s USAF flight suit which has a short length of orange cord tied to the thigh-mounted pocket, as though something which was once attached to the end of it had been cut off. It always intrigued me...now I know what it must have been. Thanks!

[SKIPH]

Marv- The MC-1s were a cool item, and young troops could get in trouble real quick downtown partying. Now, soldiers are allowed, at least here in NC to carried switchblades in the line of duty, and most of the SF guys I come in contact with have them. These are all the high speed, heavy duty blades, no MC-1s. As far as USN usage, I'm sure we have guys that served in aviation that could be very helpful. I work with guys that were in both USMC, and USN aviation who I'll check with on MC-1 usage. SKIP

[sactroop]

It’s an air crew piece of equipment. So if you wore a flight suit to work you probably had one of these. Just saying this as there are a lot of jobs that include flighting status besides pilots.

G.I.’s love to scrounge. I’m saying this because it wouldn’t surprise me if people who Uncle didn’t plan on issuing these to procured them anyway.

The knife was standard equipment for aircrews in all branches of the service. I saw a Navy survival vest once at a gun show that had pockets sewn in it for both a MC-1 and a JPSK, can’t remember if the seller told me the designation of the vest. Both knives were standard issue and often worn together. Although I don’t remember ever seeing a JPSK with any of my SAC crews. Maybe they had a classified place to carry it.

One thought if you were involved in a water landing it might be better to keep your pointy tools sheathed and use your hooked blade around your inflatable raft.

 

Looks like Skip covered this while I was typing. :pinch:

[Still-A-Marine]

I'd like to get back to the MC-1. Just to clarify, the pilot was the only one to have the MC-1 knife in the inner thigh pocket. The paratroopers would have their combat knives or bayonets to use, so they likely did not use an MC-1. The pilot was not expecting to jump therefore his tool, the MC-1, had to be very light, yet always ready.

 

Do I have it right, so far??

 

Marv

 

 

I like the way Frank Trzaska put it in his article "The M2 Parachutist Knife" (page 230 of Military Knives a Reference Book).

 

"The orange-handled Air Force MC·l really isn't kin to the Army Airborne's M2. It might be said that the MC·l was designed for those who intended to come back in their planes, while the M2 was for those who planned on jumping out!"

 

The MC-1 was for flight crews - not just the pilot.

 

Bill

[Fly USMC]

Current flight suits (Since Vietnam) have a pocket built especially for these knives. They come from issue with the lanyard (String) already in them. I was never issued an MC-1, but that could be because I primaily fly helicopters. We had a standard issue aircrew survival knife in our survival vests. I was at an event within teh last year where a recently retired Marine Colonel (Helicopter Pilot) gave his MC-1 to a Marine Lieutenant. So some people got them.

 

Here is a photo of one in the pocket of a Vietnam era flight suit.

 

another photo of one in a rigger made nylon pouch

[Misfit 45]

Hi Folks,

It's really great to be able to assemble first hand information and photos for things that are not readily available without massive research. The answers you have given me are being archived in my files for future reference. Thanks everybody.

Marv

[phantomfixer]

Dredging up an old thread...

 

The later version of the K-2B flight suit is the first USAF suit to have the thigh pocket....the early, black tag K-2Bs, did not have the thigh pocket....mid to late 50s era...the later, white tag K-2Bs had the thigh pocket for the MC-1....1962 is the earliest K-2B that I have seen with the pocket, made by Covington

also..the fast movers wearing G suits, carried the MC-1 in the G suit thigh pocket...

 

the three flight suits pictured are not in lineage order...you can see the early K-2As did not have the thigh pocket, same with the early K2Bs

[Misfit 45]

phantomfixer,

It's nice to see this resurrected thread. I would like to see if someone has any updated information about the Colonial 724 MC-1. I think it may have been Skip that said that he had not seen anyone who was issued the Colonial 724. (I may be wrong about that). Back in 2012, it was my understanding that the Colonial was in the "seat pack", maybe under that ejection seat. Obviously, I do not know the correct nomenclature. I'm wondering if someone knows whether or not it was stowed that way.

 

Also, I was wondering if the current or at least 21st century G suits have the thigh pocket.

 

Mean while, here's a picture of the four MC-1s I have; Schrade/Walden, Camillus, Logan/Smyth, and on the bottom, the Colonial.

Thanks, Folks.

Marv

[63 RECON]

good set of MC-1s, I've had one for years, just thought they were cool

 

Also have a rigger made pouch to carry one that came with a SF jungle jacket

 

https://www.freetheoppressed.me/new-index#/salandro/

[phantomfixer]

the G suit on the left is the current issue 21st century...don't know the # of it....I do know at least one squadron of F22 Raptor Life support stocks the MC-1 presumably to be issued to the pilots/G suits

[Misfit 45]

the G suit on the left is the current issue 21st century...don't know the # of it....I do know at least one squadron of F22 Raptor Life support stocks the MC-1 presumably to be issued to the pilots/G suits

 

Thank you so much for this great information. Sometimes, it's the seemingly unrelated information like flight suits, that can hold the answers to questions to other areas of collecting, like MC-1 Air Crew knives.

At the moment, I'll have to assume that the pocket of the G-suit would contain a Colonial 724 MC-1. It's the same size as the other MC-1s, but has a coil spring instead of a leaf spring. It snaps with purposeful urgency!

Thanks again,

Marv

 

[mohawkALSE]

Ive seen the newest CSU-13 G suits that have all that extra leather looking pads added for durability like whats on the left of that pic still having the knife pocket and they had the fixed handle shroud cutter attached. I think that one pretty much came the standard to carry in the G-suit past the 1990s. As I mentioned in another post regarding these knives, I did get a Navy MA-2 ejection seat torso harness that had the rigger mods done to it adding survival kit pockets and came with most of its original contents, 1 being a MC-1 knife. That MA-2 was a mid to late 90s items. Not sure on what mfg the knife is as for safety they 100mph taped the main spring blade closed as a double protection besides the slider safety button. The hook blade was carried open on it.

[mohawkALSE]

Forgot I had the pic, Has the typical Navy pull strap added as well.