TacKnives: The British Secret Weapon
By Mike Sparks
Tactical Knives (TacKnives) have saved fictional British secret agent 007, James Bond on numerous occasions; in Goldfinger, he busted out an aircraft window with a small boot dagger--resulting in his arch villain's henchmen OddJob soaring out into space:
http://youtu.be/a9wcqdGap4M
...and in From Russia with Love when assassin Red Grant was preparing to shoot him dead (in the book) or strangle-him-dead (the movie) with a wrist watch garrote, a throwing knife hidden in his brief case was just enough to end the latter's SMERSH/SPECTRE career.
Before that "point" in the movie (hehe) Bond's sidekick, Turkish MI6 station chief, Darko Kerim is murdered by a knife-in-the-back by SMERSH/SPECTRE assassin Grant and some VERY interesting throwing knife combat takes place in the Gypsy camp attack...
The Bad Guys Know to Use More Than 1 Throwing Knife to Remove a Sentry
The WW2 generation that made the early Bond movies had actually taken sentries out with knives...notice the SMERSH operative has 2 blades ready to throw if his first doesn't take the sentry out...
After the attack begins, the SMERSH villains attack with BOTH guns and knives...notice the knife that just misses Kerim...
Another baddie almost stabs Bond, but Grant shoots him so as to save 007 for the future sexpionage sting operation...
The Good Guys Play Catch-Up, Er Toss-Up...
Sean Connery as Bond, barely misses a knife to his head--which he then uses against its former owners...sadly when it comes time to throw it back and take-out the enemy leader...he misses....practice, practice, practice makes perfect...
In other 007 movies, Octopussy and On Her Majesty's Secret Service, throwing knives were used by a pair of circus villains and by Bond himself to get the attention of Corsican mobster Draco.
http://youtu.be/oZsLG9Jgpq8
Knives don't have to be elegantly thrown either--in the movie adaptation of You Only Live Twice by Fleming's WW2 BSC pal RAF Wing Commander Roald Dahl, a Sykes-Fairbairn (S-F) dagger ends up in Australian Secret Service agent Dikko Henderson's back (see picture above). Switchblade knives are also used by ghetto thugs to kill Bond's MI6 and CIA friends in New Orleans in the movie, Live & Let Die and the murderous Jazz funeral procession by the Filet of Soul restaurant gets their comeuppance in my 007 short story, Masquerade: Everything is Not What it Appears:
Deja Mardi Gras Funeral Procession
And last but not least, Daniel Craig's Bond is attacked by a small Benchmade Mini-Infidel switchblade knife in Quantum of Solace but he prevails with a pair of scissors....
youtube.com/watch?v=voThssr0Gj8
TacKnives in the OFFENSE: Not All Fun & Games
Where is all this exotic knife action coming from? Royal Navy Commander Ian Fleming's oversexed imagination?
Hardly.
We know now from James Bond is Real: The Untold Story of the Civil-Military Technological Threats Ian Fleming Warned us About that Fleming worked for MI6 BEFORE WW2 even began as a Reuters journalist; and then afterwards as the masterspy ring leader of the foreign branch of Kelmsley newspapers. During the war, Fleming was the 2IC of British Naval intelligence and lead his own intelligence-gathering Commando unit: 30 Assault Unit. He as a graduate of Camp-X in Canada, was privy to the secret methods and means of the British Commandos. One of these was the throwing knife created by the legendary Captain William Fairbairn who taught at the school--which is depicted being thrown-by-the-point in the 1992 semi-fictional treatment of Fleming's career, Spymaker starring Jason Connery:
http://youtu.be/_Y6AozU9-4o
...and thrown-by-the-handle in our recent sizzle reel for our upcoming "James Bond is Born" HD documentary series:
http://youtu.be/_Vy2yaNy2Wo
The "point" here (pun intended) is that the knife does not have to be a direct contact weapon of less than 1 feet away from its target--it can be thrown in one blade rotation out to 21 feet (7 meters) by any Soldier/Commando/Spy who takes the time to develop his/her aim. This 21 foot distance can also be multiplied at least 3 times if one throws much harder; so theoretically the knife thrower ranges are 21 feet, 42 feet, 67 feet and an amazing 88 feet (4 blade rotations) as was done by the legendary U.S. Army Scout "Skeeter" Vaughn in WW2 to take out a Nazi guard:
http://youtu.be/qDD3-w9FZMc
21 feet also happens to be the minimum stand-off distance you need to draw a pistol out of a holster and fire it before a knife-wielding foe stabs you first. Because of this stand-off, we delineate this outer circle your "Personal Offense Zone" (POZ) where if you attack with a knife-bayonet or pistol its because of CHOICE; you are deliberately closing-in on the enemy and want to be quiet about it.
Commandos Strike HARD to Get IN
The secret of both the British Commandos--and their off-spring the modern U.S. Army Rangers beginning in WW2 was not their physical fitness--and potential vanity that could go with it, but THE STEALTHY NIGHT INFILTRATION RIFLE-BAYONET ATTACK. We call this Stealth Infiltration Mechanized Bayonet Attacks or "SIMBA" tactics.
For example, at the disastrous 1942, Dieppe amphibious landings (actually a massive deception operation on the Germans to think seizing the port of Calais was necessary to return to the mainland), Lord Lovat's 3 Commandos timed their landings to coincide with RAF fighter-bomber strikes to shield their presence. Upon leaving their armored landing craft, they quietly and quickly infiltrated through any sentries removing them by S-F knife attacks and then proceeded to rifle-bayonet the German coastal gun crews followed by demolition charging their guns. They got-the-drop on the enemy by NOT using their firearms.
We have forgotten how to infiltration attack in today's bureaucratic USMIL that are so afraid of our M9 Wire-Cutter Bayonets (WCBs) that they are locked up! Its embarrassing that Fort Benning brags and has statues of "Iron Mike" holding a rifle with a fixed bayonet and even the post's newspaper is called THE BAYONET, yet its "spirit" (of locating, closing with and destroying the enemy) is currently dead if infantry recruits don't even qualify with the rifle-bayonet anymore--and cannot even take ANY long knives (even if they buy them themselves) that must be carried on the belt to the field to do routine tasks like cut open ration boxes, chop 550 parachute cord etc. It's high time we stop acting like bureaucratic pussies and start acting like Men-Soldiers and start issuing out our bayonets and integrate them into inspired SIMBA tactics so we have common sense field craft means and can take-out at least sentries silently:
The last we checked, the infiltration attack is still in the U.S. Army's infantry manual's (was called FM 7-8 Infantry Platoon & Squad) Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTP) as a possible Course-Of-Action (COA). Therefore, this isn't just the stuff of the Japanese Ninjas as depicted in the 1967 James Bond film, You Only Live Twice (YOLT) for when assaulting a Deep Underground Military Base (DUMB). Maybe, if we fought for stealth & surprise capabilities in our force structure, TTP and equipment--we wouldn't be slamming into the alerted enemy from afar and then having to pour fire indiscriminately into villages--murdering innocent civilians and making their surviving relatives into vengeful rebels. If we want to actually WIN and smother Sub-National Conflicts (SNCs)--not racketeer them for all their budgetary worth--we need to use the "bayonet" to take-out verified bad guys with Medium Range Battle (MRB) to Close Range Battle (CQB) means so we target only verified bad guys--and not drop the indiscriminate 2, 000 pound bomb "air strike" aka Long-Range Battle (LRB) means as LTC John Paul Vann instructed us:
combatreform.org/johnpaulvann.htm
Another problem with the air strike even with smaller bombs is that of gadget bleed: if we throw away costly guided munitions to do things we should be doing more economically with the guidance of our closer-ranged, maneuver, we may just make America go broke--economically forcing us to leave the field-of-battle just as surely as if we had our asses kicked in a firefight.
If it's any consolation, Fort Benning's bureaucrats are not the only ones terrified of knives: look at the many superb James Bond 007 Video Games (VGs) out or soon to come out: do they depict 007 or the bad guys using knives?
No.
http://youtu.be/7LcbvBSX4rg
They tend to have Daniel Craig using unarmed blows and chops to take down enemies when a firearm is not used. The upcoming 007 Legends VG has in the Goldfinger mission Oddjob's hat which has a blade--but this is more likely a clever Fleming allusion to Anti-Gravity Craft (AGC) aka "Flying Saucers"--than an actual edged weapon.
Learning from the Ranger Failure @ Cisterna
http://youtu.be/l3jm6DJjAIU
The risks of an infiltration attack going sour and having the enemy swarm around the force as what befell the 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions at Cisterna, Italy in 1944--can be prevented by having such attacks supported by stealthy M113A4 SuperGavin light tracked tanks with band tracks, Hybrid-Electric Drives or engine sound dampening, infared camouflage and superior heavy vehicular weaponry so MECHanized CommANDO (MECHANDO) tactics can be employed if SIMBA tactics stop working. The MECHANDOs can have the SuperGavins open fire with their automatic cannon, recoilless rifles, ATGMs, mortars and multiple machine guns to effect superior Terrain Saturation Firepower (TSF) to at least suppress the enemy long enough to break contact, extract the dismounted troops or continue moving towards objectives to gain Maneuver Terrain Leverage (MTL) similar to what General Patton achieved many times during WW2 to win the Long-Range Battle (LRB).
Commandos Strike FAST to Get Out
Fleming points out another extremely important aspect of the stealth bayonet & knife attack in his last work, the 1966 movie, The Poppy is Also a Flower--the need to avoid alerting adjacent and more numerous enemy forces to converge on your raid force.
http://youtu.be/1gH3tF3bDxg
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT BEFELL TASK FORCE RANGER ("Blackhawk Down!") IN SOMALIA IN 1993--yet they failed to bring along their own tracked armor to bust them out when surprise failed--they had Cisterna almost exactly 50 years before to warn them to fix their force structure so there is no excuse then--and certainly no excuse today. Shock troops (Rangers) need shock action (tanks) if surprise fails. FYI, the success story of the 1944 Cisterna battle--the 4th Ranger battalion prevailed because they had half-tracks. Anyway, back to examining the dismounted aspects of night infiltration attacks...
In the film, an anti-drug Iranian Army officer played by Yul Brenner decides to climb over a vertical-face mountain ridge (not unlike the 1st SSF "Devil's Brigade" attack on La Difensa in Italy) to achieve surprise on an opium smuggling camp. Note: 1st SSF Commander, Colonel Frederick designed his own dagger, the V-42 for use by his men (see NOTES section at bottom of the page). However, to preserve surprise and not have the numerous drug lords converge on them, after rappelling down onto the camp they were under strict orders to not fire a shot and to use knives to take-out the sentries. Using these commando tactics, Brenner's men are able to capture the opium crop and lace it with radioactive material before their buyers arrived so as to track the entire network and take it down. Fleming was deeply concerned about the chemical warfare being inflicted upon the world by drugs and wanted to stamp it out--we will be revisiting this threat in the upcoming sequel 007 James Bond adventure, "The Bell Tolls for Thee":
combatreform.org/thebelltollsforthee.htm
TacKnives in the DEFENSE: A Knife or Another Magazine of Ammo?
When you examine the technotactical continuum, a magazine of ammo weighs roughly the same as a bayonet or a small throwing knife. In the zero sum game of the Soldier's load; something has to give. Should the Soldier give up potentially another magazine of ammunition for his long gun that could in the worst case keep an enemy at bay at a distance of 300 meters? Or should he lose 30 shots and say upwards of 30 minutes of stand-off time for a knife good at best 100 feet? Would Delta Force snipers Shughart and Gordon have been better off with a bayonet on the end of their rifles--and not another magazine of ammo had they been able to stay behind cover and not offer a Line-Of-Sight (LOS) for the enemy's AKMs? If the end game is gaining a LOS, and the enemy sees you are out of ammo, he knows he can rush you--if you have a bayonet fixed--he knows you are not finished--and if he rushes you someone is going to go down. Certainly, every aircrew member's SERE knife should connect to the end of their Personal Defense Weapon (PDW) to have this capability in-a-pinch.
Commanders will have to make their own decisions on this eh, point. However, no one should EVER go into the field on Planet Earth without at least one knife just in order to survive if lost/separated from civilization; so the weight penalty is moot. So why not have that SERE/field knife be a bayonet that can attach to the end of the rifle to act as a pike/lance that in and of itself is a TYPE OF ATTACK that asymmetrically miss-matches what the enemy might be doing in the rock vs. paper vs. scissors of modern warfare? The British had an unit in Iraq run out of ammo and they fixed bayonets and attacked to win the day. These things do happen. Bureaucracies are corrupt and notorious about neglecting to supply the troops.
The rifle-bayonet charge has a shock effect that is greater than the volley or continuous fire of one magazine's worth of fire ie; a maximum of 30 targets that could be hit per man. If the Soldier can get close with his rifle-bayonet; the number of targets he can take-out is until his muscles give out. The British know this. They remember that we used to fight wars for thousands of years with non-firearms blade and club weapons; felling literally millions of people. While we can and should do everything possible to not run out of ammo to include using the enemy's against him; the fact remains that its prudent to have something other than the "scissors" of a firearm--like the "rock" of the bayonet available. This covers the POZ scenarios out to 100 meters and can also cover the Personal Defense Zone (PDZ) scenarios of less than 21 feet--IF they bayonet can be withdrawn quickly from its scabbard and be possibly thrown if needed.
One conclusion is that the bayonet may already be attached to the end of your rifle--and not be available to take out a sentry in POZ situations or be there on your body if unexpectedly attacked in PDZ crises.
http://youtu.be/voThssr0Gj8
Former Salt Lake City Police Department Sergeant Dennis Tueller (works for Action Targets) was the first to realize that one needs at least 21 feet stand-off to draw a weapon on a knife attacker and defeat him in time.
The idea then is to have a instantly accessible Personal Defense Knife (PDK) on your body at all times with a weight penalty of less than about 0.5 pounds. The PDK could be worn in the outer cargo pocket of the combat uniform:
http://youtu.be/ZI_pQnQOOIk
In peacetime, the clip and rear handle will show so its not a concealed weapon. Another option would be to wear the PDK at the small of the back sideways on the Rigger's belt under the uniform top shirt/coat as part of the 007/SHTF/SERE kit embedded on the body:
The Ideal PDZ Weapons: A Quiver of 3 x PDKs and a Mini-9mm PDG
This author's current thinking is that the PDK should actually be a plastic scabbard holding 3 solid, single piece throwing knives of around 7 inches wrapped in 550 parachute cord for 007/SERE/SHTF uses. If the Soldier wants to throw a knife and should miss; he has 2 others to try or can switch to a hand stab/slash knife attack.
The United Cutlery Triple Thrower knives--imported from China--are great except their overall quality is low and each one's edge needs to be sharper so as to be useful as a field knife. The nylon sheaths are flimsy and we had to go to a leather maker to reinforce the bottoms so the sharp blades didn't poke through--as well as to strengthen the belt-hanging loop.
If a high-quality outfit like Cold Steel, Benchmade, CRKT, Buck or Gerber were to offer a triple PDK kit--then selected Scout Soldiers would have small utility, sentry removal, personal defense knives as well as a 3-shot knife throwing attack system for both POZ/PDZ scenarios--at the weight penalty of 1 x 30 round magazine of 5.56mm.
KnifeThrow War Practice: Use a Soft Target to Spare Your Blades
As seen before, we used a carpet held up by a 2"x4" board on clamp-on legs to be the soft target for throwing knives since hard wood can break your blades. Paint a silhouette on the back of the carpet for aiming.
Fleming's field operative concept of Bond using first the tiny Beretta .25 and then the Walther PPK because it can actually be carried in all situations--so as to be there when its needed--is sound; however, the tiny 9mm short (.380 caliber) cartridge it shoots is not powerful enough--despite what you'll see in SkyFall thanks to Hollywood blanks:
Therefore, for the PDG, we recommend the Kel-Tech PF9 full-size 9mm x 19mm NATO pistol in a "StealthGun holster" inside either the left or right military cargo pocket of the combat uniform or TacPants depending on the preferred hand the Soldier/Commando/Spy shoots with. Other options would be the new Walther PPS or Beretta Nano both shooting full-sized 9mm. Another important capability is Bond's compact gun would then shoot the same ammunition as his full-sized Walther P99. The 9mm sub-compact gun option is covered in detail on the web page below:
combatreform.org/cqbpistols.htm
Because the PF9 is a Double-Action Only (DAO) automatic; a hammer or sound-activated laser could be inserted into its barrel or chamber for warpractice; however we have found that a RED laser is only visible to about 75 feet (roughly 25 meters) in bright daylight; ALL lasers both practice devices--and especially combat pointers/aimers--should be GREEN so they can be seen even in broad daylight out to the distances with which actual bullets can reach. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for green war practice lasers that fit into barrels or chambers.
Adding POZ/PDZ Weaponry Together
Weight_______________Purchase Costs
E-Tool-Pick/Case............2.52 lbs (Mounted with SuperGavin or dismounted 1 every other Soldier; Gerber improved model $200)
PDG 9mm ....................2.0 lbs. ($300)
M9 WCB .....................1.50 lbs. ($100)
Multi-Tool Knife/Pliers.....1.0 lbs. ($100)
PDK Hidden .................0.50 lbs. ($50)
SERE Kit on Belt ...........0.75 lbs ($50)
_______________________________________
TOTALS
...........................6.27 pounds ($800)
NOTES
United Cutlery Triple Throwing Knife Set
This 3-piece throwing set is great for beginners and seasoned pros alike. Each 9"" United Cutlery throwing knife is constructed of one solid-piece of AUS-6 stainless steel, coated for durability. Wind grooves have been cast into the handle to provide an extremely aerodynamic throwing knife. Includes a tough nylon sheath for carrying all three knives at once. 4 3/8"" bl
Note: This item cannot ship to NY
Pricing
Item # Description Sugg. Retail
47 UC2509 United Cutlery Triple Throwing Knife Set
$21.99
AMAZON:
$11.80 From BUDK (Go figure?)
PROS: You can 550 paracord wrap the handles of these knives to add 007/SERE/SHTF capabilities.
Exact Replica of British Commando & 1st SSF (Airborne) Devil's Brigade Knives
http://budk.com/product/Linder-British-Commando-Knife/157070.uts?keyword=commando
Linder British Commando KnifeFeatures a 7" 420 stainless steel blade with a metal all black handle. Includes leather sheath.
Item # Description
17 LC455218 Linder British Commando Knife $31.99
http://budk.com/product/V42-Military-Stiletto-Dagger-with-Sheath/172870.uts?keyword=v42
V42 Military Stiletto Dagger with Sheathhttp://budk.com/product/SOA-V42-Marine-Dagger-Banks-Edition-with-Sheath/157318.uts?keyword=v42The V-42 was designed in part by the Commanding Officer of the First Special Service Force, "The Devil's Brigade," Lt. Colonel Robert T. Frederick. The knife was designed and constructed with the sole purpose of battle in mind. This knife was the trademark weapon of the Devil's Brigade, and its members were trained extensively in the use of the V-42. Our historically accurate replica features a stacked leather handle like the original, as to be easily handled in cold weather. Each dagger offers a razor-sharp, double-edged stiletto blade that pierces through even tough materials with ease. Thumb notches are cast into the handle above the guard to keep the knife from slipping when wet or wearing gloves. Each piece includes an custom leather sheath. 7 1/4"" bl, 12 5/8"" ov.
Item # Description
17 BK2140 V42 Military Stiletto Dagger with Sheath $12.99
SOA V42 Dagger Banks Edition with SheathColonel Aaron Bank, born November 23, 1902 , was an officer of the United States Army, and the founder of the U.S. Army Special Forces, commonly called "Green Berets". He is also famous for his exploits as an OSS officer during World War II, parachuting into France [Jedburgh Team] to coordinate and activate the French Resistance and organizing an operation intended to capture Adolf Hitler. Col. Bank is commonly known throughout the armed forces as "The Father Of The Green Berets." He died on April 1, 2004 in Dana Point, California at the age of 101. The V-42 Stiletto was used extensively in many Special Forces branches as the primary knife. This historically accurate V-42 stiletto replica features a stacked leather handle like the original, as to be easily handled in cold weather. Each dagger offers a razor-sharp, double-edged stiletto blade that pierces through even tough materials with ease. Thumb notches are cast into the handle above the guard to keep the knife from slipping when wet or wearing gloves. Each piece is laser-serialized and etched with the S.O.A. shield. It also includes an exact replica of the extended sheath, which hung below the Soldier's winter parkas. 6 7/8"" bl, 12 5/8""
Item # Description
17 UC2784 SOA V42 Dagger Banks Edition with Sheath $34.99
