The story of a prototype Airman and a Marine pioneer.
Editor’s note: The author contacted BLADE® and asked if we would be interested in his story on a special Marine Corps knife and a special Marine to coincide with the semi-quincentennial of the United States Marine Corps. Needless to say, it was an easy decision on our part. Meanwhile, please join us in wishing a happy 250th birthday to the Corps and Marines everywhere.
The core values of honor, courage and commitment have defined the United States Marine Corps since its inception on Nov. 10, 1775. To remain an elite fighting force, the Marine Corps has adapted as the world has changed over the past 250 years, incorporating new technology and developing new doctrine.
One of the most significant transformations began with the birth of Marine Corps aviation in 1912. During World War II, Marine aviators played a vital role in the Pacific campaign, working closely with ground units to seize heavily defended island strongholds. As Gen. Keith B. McCutcheon, a pioneer of Marine aviation, later emphasized, “The Marine Corps is proud of the fact that it is a force of combined arms, and it jealously guards the integrity of its air-ground team.”
The evolution of air combat brought new challenges, challenges that extended even to the knives that aviators carried. One result was a collaboration between Marine aviators and BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Walter D. “Bo” Randall, who would redefine survival and combat knives with the now-iconic Randall Model 15. This article features one of Randall’s prototypes—a rugged, full-tang Airman’s Knife that was carried for more than 15 years by Gen. McCutcheon himself.
The Challenge
Marine aviators amassed extensive combat experience in World War II and Korea. By 1953, the Marine Corps recognized that the rigors of combat aviation demanded a new type of knife—one that was rugged, compact and versatile.
As documented by Randall historian Robert Gaddis, the Marine Corps Equipment Board assigned Lt. Col. H. Ross Jordan and Maj. Harold N. “Tex” Mehaffey to develop a survival and combat knife for Marine aviators. The knife had to be nearly indestructible—strong enough for an airman to pry, cut or smash his way out of a downed aircraft. At the same time, it had to be short enough to be worn in a cramped cockpit, and the sheath needed to allow the knife to be carried on the upper arm or lower leg.
After reading a December 1953 magazine article about Bo and his expertly crafted blades, Mehaffey and Jordan arranged to tour his knife shop in Orlando on Feb. 11-12, 1954. By the end of their fruitful discussion on February 12, Bo had arrived at the basic design of the Randall Airman’s Knife. He also planned a longer-bladed version for ground troops, a design that would become the Randall Attack. Thus, this meeting launched the line of full-tang Randall models that would expand and evolve over the coming years.
Bo moved rapidly to fabricate prototypes that embodied his innovative design. The 5.5-inch blade would be forged from quarter-inch-thick O1 tool steel, a material that had been proven in earlier Randall combat knives. To strengthen the tip, the blade would retain the full quarter-inch thickness nearly to the point. To strengthen the junction between blade and the handle, the tang would be 7/8-inch wide along the entire grip. An extended segment of the tang would have a hole for a wrist thong and provide a surface that could be used for hammering. A heavy double hilt would prevent a gloved hand from slipping forward onto the blade. The handle would be made from a single piece of Tenite plastic, shaped with finger grips and a channel to snugly fit the tang. Stainless steel bolts would secure the handle.
To complete the package, Randall designed a sheath that could be worn on a belt, attached to a harness, or tied to the lower leg or upper arm with leather laces. It featured a diagonal keeper and rivets at stress points. The Randall shop completed the prototypes of the Airman’s Knife and the longer Attack Knife by the end of February 1954—barely more than two weeks after the formative design discussion—and Clarence Moore readied the sheaths soon after.
The innovative features of the new knife and sheath designs were memorialized on certified blueprints on March 4, 1954. Randall filed a patent application on Aug. 11, 1954, and the United States Patent Office granted patent 177,590 for the Randall Airman’s Knife on May 1, 1956.
Prototype Testing
With prototypes in hand, Randall travelled to Quantico, Virginia in mid-March 1954 to present the new full-tang knives to Mehaffey, Jordan and other USMC and U.S. Navy officers. The group enthusiastically recommended that the Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics purchase 10 prototype Airman’s Knives for evaluation: five from quarter-inch stock according to the original design, and five lighter examples from 3/16-inch stock.
The requisition arrived in early April 1954 and the shop shipped the 10 prototypes in early May. The invoice listed the Airman’s Knife as the #14, but later that month Randall adopted the still-current model numbers: the Airman became the Model 15, and the longer version became the Model 14 Attack.
The Marine Corps Equipment Board received two of the prototypes, one of each blade thickness, and the remaining eight were sent to squadrons and other units for real-world testing. In late May, Mehaffey informed Bo that preliminary testing had begun.
One of the original Randall prototypes is featured in the accompanying photographs. Made from quarter-inch steel, as indicated by the inscription on the handle, the prototype closely follows Bo’s patented design, except the blade lacks the fuller shown in the drawing. As in the original design, the prototype’s handle is secured by three bolts; this feature sets the prototype apart from later production examples of the Model 15, in which only two bolts were used.
The handle is made from white Tenite, a material used only for a year or so before Randall adopted the more familiar green Tenite that was characteristic of production for nearly 10 years, until Randall Made replaced Tenite with Micarta® in the mid-1960s. The prototype’s hilt is nickel silver in contrast to the brass hilts seen on almost all Model 15s with Tenite handles. The sheath was made according to Bo’s design by master leatherworker Clarence Moore, who made sheaths for the earliest full-tang knives until Heiser took over production in 1955.
After more than 70 years, the knife and sheath are in outstanding condition—a testament to Randall’s craftsmanship and superb design.
Project Setbacks
Despite starting with such promise, the project faltered in the summer of 1954 when Mehaffey was transferred for duty in France and Jordan retired. The departure of the two enthusiastic advocates delayed testing and communications. The next official update was in December 1954, when Bo heard that testing had been underway for two months with positive feedback. In April 1955, the United States Air Force also ordered a group of Model 15s for evaluation. Bo wrote again to the USMC in June 1955 but heard nothing further from the Marines or the Air Force.
Although Randall was never officially informed of the results, author Frank Trzaska uncovered a September 1955 testing report in the USMC archives. The report was authored by USMC Maj. Norman W. Gourley, who had succeeded Mehaffey. Extensive testing of the Randall Airman prototypes showed that the quarter-inch-thick version (i.e., Bo’s original design) was “suitable for aviators’ survival use.”
The report, which pictures this story’s featured prototype, notes the high quality of the design, materials and workmanship of the Randall knife and sheath and concludes that it is acceptable for extreme survival tasks. The report also noted potential changes that would improve the knife further, such as the addition of saw teeth, a flat butt surface for hammering, and different handle configurations. Bo independently incorporated most of these features in various full-tang Randall models by the mid-1960s, and presumably he would have made the changes sooner if the request had ever been made.
While the tests of the Randall Airman were underway, the Navy adopted the Imperial Pilot Survival Knife for its aviators. Because the Marine Corps operates as part of the Department of the Navy, this surely complicated any attempt by the Marines to adopt a different design. The Randall Airman was never issued by the military, but Bo added the Model 14 Attack and the Model 15 Airman to the new Randall catalog printed in 1954, which showed prototypes of both models as “patent pending.” As envisioned by Bo and the Marine aviators who helped to shape the design, Randall’s full-tang combat and survival knives were embraced by many American servicemen who purchased them privately, especially during the Vietnam War.
Pioneer & His Prototype
One Marine who had a high opinion of the Randall Airman was aviation pioneer Keith B. McCutcheon, who as a colonel served as Chief, Air Section, Marine Corps Equipment Board from June 1954 to July 1957. After the Randall Airman tests concluded, McCutcheon carried the quarter-inch prototype for the rest of his career.
In January 1966, while commanding the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in Da Nang, Vietnam, then-Brig. Gen. McCutcheon wrote that the Airman was a “wonderful knife” that he had carried for “10 or 11 years.” Photographs from 1970 show McCutcheon wearing the knife when he returned to Da Nang as a lieutenant general and commander of the III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF).
Commissioned as a Marine 2nd lieutenant in 1937, McCutcheon was a brilliant, courageous leader who transformed Marine aviation over the course of his illustrious 34-year career. Gen. Earl Anderson said McCutcheon “was one of the finest and most dedicated Marine officers [whose career] reads like a history of Marine Aviation. He earned his wings as an aviator in 1940 and served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.”
McCutcheon was instrumental in integrating helicopters into Marine operations, and has been called “the Father of Marine Helicopters.” But, as historian William Fails observed, that title does not capture McCutcheon’s central contributions to numerous other areas. He also advanced close air support doctrine and techniques, guided missile systems, and the AV-8 Harrier jump jet. McCutcheon was also an effective leader of ground operations, launching successful operations as commander of III MAF.
For his exemplary service over 34 years, McCutcheon received many of the nation’s highest military decorations, including three Distinguished Service Medals, the Silver Star Medal, three Legions of Merit with Combat “V,” the Distinguished Flying Cross, 10 Air Medals and others. He was appointed to become the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps but was unable to assume the post because of failing health. He retired as a four-star general on July 1, 1971, and passed away from an illness soon after.
Enduring Legacy
On the 250th birthday of the United States Marine Corps, it is fitting to honor the legacy of Gen. Keith B. McCutcheon, an extraordinary leader who helped shape the modern Marine Corps. McCutcheon’s prototype Randall Airman remains as a tangible link to his many accomplishments and to the connection between the Marine Corps and Randall Made Knives.
Sources
William R. Fails. 1978. “Marines and Helicopters 1962-1973.” History and Museums Division, Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps.
Robert L. Gaddis. 1993. “Randall Made Knives: The History of the Man and the Blades” Paladin Press.
James Anthony Ginther, Jr. 1999. “Keith Barr McCutcheon: Integrating Aviation into the United States Marine Corps, 1937-1971.” Doctoral Dissertation, Texas Tech University.
Norman W. Gourley. 1955. Marine Corps Equipment Board report A9-E-1039 on Project E-1039.
Frank Trzaska. 2001. “Randall’s Model 15 & the U.S.M.C.” February 2001 Knife World.
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