M3 in M8 with LF&C 1918 Modified Grip

[Sgt. Boghots]

Apology in advance for the poor pic's - but they were taken 7 years ago with my Mavica. Seemed o.k. at the time, but camera wise that was "long ago"...

 

I'll try to keep this long story short. But on Saturday I will be making a long drive to acuire this knife from the Army vet who brought it back from the Philippines. He was a member of the 5th ARU (Aircraft Repair Unit), serving aboard the USS Brigadeer General Russell. Until 1997, Operation Ivory Soap was a highly classified project that put Army aircraft maintenance personnel and aircraft parts on 1 of 6 specially converted vessels, along with Merchant Marine crewman, into forward areas of operation in the ETO & PTO.

 

Their most hush-hush trump card was being equipped with Sikorsky helicopters, for the purpose of flying parts back and forth to on board shops for repair, sending parts ashore, and rescue of stranded aircrew and casualties. As events actually took place, helicopters from these ships and aircraft repair units were to be among the first to fly in combat, first in Burma and shortly thereafter in the Philippines. By the time the war was over, they'd become the first "Dust Off" helicopters, and through ingenuity in the field, they'd been variously rigged to "shoot back".

 

Anyway, my veteran friend was an aircraft structural repairman by training, who also made a number of flights into combat areas to help make repairs on damaged aircraft, conduct salvage of essential parts from aircraft lost in remote areas, and in one case to stay on the ground and organize wounded, so his pilot could make trips back and forth evacuating injured, then pick him up last.

 

He saved little from his military service, but this knife he got from an injured "paratrooper" is one of the items. Based on where the particular flight occured, I believe the airborne soldier to have been a member of the 503rd RCT.

 

I spoke with him on the phone today, and he is ready to let me add it to my collection. I've got the pre-game jitters !!

 

If all goes well, I'll have it home on Saturday night.

 

The blade is of M3 style, but completely unmarked. The narrowed guards on the 1918 LF&C grip, I've seen on a few other knives.

 

 

 

 

If there are any others out there for comparison, let me know !!

 

Best regards,

Paul Walker

Klamath Falls, Oregon

[unterhund]

Fascinating stuff and good for you to score such a unique item. I've recently been researching the Ivory Soap boys and their potential role in Operation DOWNFALL, the invasion of Japan that--thank God--never happened.

 

I too have seen examples of M1917 trenchers with the wide hand-guards ground off. For WWII troopers, the modification worked much better in the M6 and M8 scabbards that were issued to replace the original sheaths which had not survived WWI usage or subsequent storage very well.

 

Any more you could add to this story would be interesting.

 

Apology in advance for the poor pic's - but they were taken 7 years ago with my Mavica. Seemed o.k. at the time, but camera wise that was "long ago"...

 

I'll try to keep this long story short. But on Saturday I will be making a long drive to acuire this knife from the Army vet who brought it back from the Philippines. He was a member of the 5th ARU (Aircraft Repair Unit), serving aboard the USS Brigadeer General Russell. Until 1997, Operation Ivory Soap was a highly classified project that put Army aircraft maintenance personnel and aircraft parts on 1 of 6 specially converted vessels, along with Merchant Marine crewman, into forward areas of operation in the ETO & PTO.

 

Their most hush-hush trump card was being equipped with Sikorsky helicopters, for the purpose of flying parts back and forth to on board shops for repair, sending parts ashore, and rescue of stranded aircrew and casualties. As events actually took place, helicopters from these ships and aircraft repair units were to be among the first to fly in combat, first in Burma and shortly thereafter in the Philippines. By the time the war was over, they'd become the first "Dust Off" helicopters, and through ingenuity in the field, they'd been variously rigged to "shoot back".

 

Anyway, my veteran friend was an aircraft structural repairman by training, who also made a number of flights into combat areas to help make repairs on damaged aircraft, conduct salvage of essential parts from aircraft lost in remote areas, and in one case to stay on the ground and organize wounded, so his pilot could make trips back and forth evacuating injured, then pick him up last.

 

He saved little from his military service, but this knife he got from an injured "paratrooper" is one of the items. Based on where the particular flight occured, I believe the airborne soldier to have been a member of the 503rd RCT.

 

I spoke with him on the phone today, and he is ready to let me add it to my collection. I've got the pre-game jitters !!

 

If all goes well, I'll have it home on Saturday night.

 

The blade is of M3 style, but completely unmarked. The narrowed guards on the 1918 LF&C grip, I've seen on a few other knives.

 

 

If there are any others out there for comparison, let me know !!

 

Best regards,

Paul Walker

Klamath Falls, Oregon

[unterhund]

Fascinating stuff and good for you to score such a unique item. I've recently been researching the Ivory Soap boys and their potential role in Operation DOWNFALL, the invasion of Japan that--thank God--never happened.

 

I too have seen examples of M1917 trenchers with the wide hand-guards ground off. For WWII troopers, the modification worked much better in the M6 and M8 scabbards that were issued to replace the original sheaths which had not survived WWI usage or subsequent storage very well.

 

Any more you could add to this story would be interesting.

 

Apology in advance for the poor pic's - but they were taken 7 years ago with my Mavica. Seemed o.k. at the time, but camera wise that was "long ago"...

 

I'll try to keep this long story short. But on Saturday I will be making a long drive to acuire this knife from the Army vet who brought it back from the Philippines. He was a member of the 5th ARU (Aircraft Repair Unit), serving aboard the USS Brigadeer General Russell. Until 1997, Operation Ivory Soap was a highly classified project that put Army aircraft maintenance personnel and aircraft parts on 1 of 6 specially converted vessels, along with Merchant Marine crewman, into forward areas of operation in the ETO & PTO.

 

Their most hush-hush trump card was being equipped with Sikorsky helicopters, for the purpose of flying parts back and forth to on board shops for repair, sending parts ashore, and rescue of stranded aircrew and casualties. As events actually took place, helicopters from these ships and aircraft repair units were to be among the first to fly in combat, first in Burma and shortly thereafter in the Philippines. By the time the war was over, they'd become the first "Dust Off" helicopters, and through ingenuity in the field, they'd been variously rigged to "shoot back".

 

Anyway, my veteran friend was an aircraft structural repairman by training, who also made a number of flights into combat areas to help make repairs on damaged aircraft, conduct salvage of essential parts from aircraft lost in remote areas, and in one case to stay on the ground and organize wounded, so his pilot could make trips back and forth evacuating injured, then pick him up last.

 

He saved little from his military service, but this knife he got from an injured "paratrooper" is one of the items. Based on where the particular flight occured, I believe the airborne soldier to have been a member of the 503rd RCT.

 

I spoke with him on the phone today, and he is ready to let me add it to my collection. I've got the pre-game jitters !!

 

If all goes well, I'll have it home on Saturday night.

 

The blade is of M3 style, but completely unmarked. The narrowed guards on the 1918 LF&C grip, I've seen on a few other knives.

 

 

If there are any others out there for comparison, let me know !!

 

Best regards,

Paul Walker

Klamath Falls, Oregon

[doyler]

Paul

 

Great post and good luck on getting the knife. :thumbsup:

[tylis2]

Very nice knife. I don't see the typical spiked nut on the end. Is the handle filled with lead in lieu of the pommel nut?

 

Regards

 

Steve T

[Shamrock111]

Very nice knife! it has some very interesting and unique modifications to it.