German Officer Dagger
The famous designer Paul Casberg worked on the development of the German . Wehrmacht officer dagger. This dagger was approved for use on may 4, 1935. For him, a suspension was also created with a lanyard, which was tied in a special way-on the handle and guard.
27.05.1943 g. production of German land blades was stopped. Germany then began to suffer defeats and was not in the best military situation. At the same time, this type of edged weapons was actually stopped only from 5.09.1944. In the additional instruction of 24.12.1944, it was said that all officers are required to carry service weapons exclusively in a holster. Since the German award dagger were a personal attribute of the dress uniform, they were purchased by officers mainly at their own expense.
Characteristics of the 1935 German Wehrmacht officer dagger
The dagger was introduced in 1935 for field-febels, non-commissioned officers, field marshals and generals. The production of the Wehrmacht Dirk was carried out by certain manufacturers who were selected for this task.
The dagger had a 2-blade 6-carbon blade (in a cross section). The blade had a perfectly smooth, polished surface. Garda - in the form of an eagle (coat of arms of the 3rd Reich), holding a swastika in its paws. It is noteworthy that during the occupation of Poland, the poles called this coat of arms a crow. The ends of the guard were made in the form of spirals, bent down. On top of the guard was an ornament in the form of a wreath of oak leaves.
The handle was made of orange plastic, on which rings with narrow protruding thicknesses were arranged in a spiral. The handle was equipped with a tip in the form of a truncated inverted pyramid decorated with oak leaves.
Steel was used for scabbards with smooth, narrow ribs and a convex foot. They were decorated with 2 collars, on which the same oak leaves were depicted.
The dimensions of the Wehrmacht Dirk are 37.2 mm in length, the length of the blade is 25.5 cm, the length of the weapon in the scabbard is 40.2 cm.
This weapon was taken as the basis for the manufacture of other types of German Dirks of the Third Reich (Dirks of the Luftwaffe, German naval Dirks of the Second world war). Similar in design and characteristics were some types of civil service blades, as well as some models of HO from the weapons of certain satellite States of the 3rd Reich. The General features were manifested primarily in the design of the blade, grip of the handle and scabbard.