V-42 stiletto choil or ricasso designed to facilitate a flat or modified saber grip, and a leather handle with a pointed skull-cracking pommel (butt). One source states that the Army placed five separate orders totaling 3,423 V-42 fighting knives from November 1942 through November 1943. However, Case factory records indicate that approximately 3,000 V-42 knives were actually produced, and only one shipment of 1,750 knives to the FSSF was recorded by the Force's supply officer. V-42 stiletto The V-42 stiletto was a stiletto and fighting knife issued during World War II to the First Special Service Force (1st SSF, a.k.a. Devil's Brigade),
Stiletto fallen or severely wounded heavily armored opponent. The needle-like blade could, if used with sufficient force, penetrate most mail or find its way through gaps in a knight's plate armor, and was narrow enough to pass through the eye slits of the helmeted knight. A severely wounded opponent who was not expected to survive would be given a "mercy strike" (French "coup de grâce"), hence the name "miséricorde". Later, the Gunner's Stiletto became a tool for clearing cannon-fuse touch holes; used in the manner of an automotive oil dipstick, they were often inscribed with marks indicating levels of powder charges