Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Dagger

Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Dagger cover

Description

The Fairbairn-Sykes Commando dagger has become iconic as the most widely recognized fighting knife in the world. The origins of the dagger can be traced to Shanghai in the 1930s where W. E. Fairbairn and US Marine officers including Sam Yeaton carried out experiments in developing what they considered the perfect knife for close combat.

When Fairbairn and Sykes became instructors for the Commandos, they refined the design which would evolve into the classic Fairbairn-Sykes dagger. The dagger was first used during early Commando raids into occupied Europe but saw action in every theatre of World War II (1939-1945). US Rangers and Marines who had trained with the Commandos took their Fairbairn-Sykes daggers home which also influenced the development of American Special Forces daggers. The Fairbairn-Sykes remained in use with many units after the war, and has become a symbol of commando and special forces units throughout the world.

Table of Contents

Introduction/ Development/ Use/ Impact/ Conclusion

Product details

Published Mar 22 2011
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Extent 80
ISBN 9781849084314
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations 21 b/w; 23 col
Dimensions 10 x 7 inches
Series Weapon
Short code WPN 7
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Leroy Thompson

Leroy Thompson has trained military and police spe…

Illustrator

Howard Gerrard

Howard Gerrard studied at the Wallasey School of A…

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