Knife, Assembly, Emergency Curved, Clothing, USAAF, Western

Genuine WWII American survival knife, as issued in the emergency lifeboats (dinghy) and also carried by individuals on flight. AAF classification No. 17-B. This knife is able to float thanks to its wooden handle. Manufactured by Western. 

During the war, the USAAF acquired various emergency devices to improve their own equipment, particularly in the ETO. One of these items was the British RAF Dinghy Knife, to be included with survey rafts and subsequently adopted as a first-aid knife.