Pictures/specs of US military axes from 1940s to 1990s

M

maddawg308

Joined
Dec 28, 2014
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24
Does anyone own or have any good specs of what the military pioneer axes, the ones carried on jeeps, trucks and other moving equipment from World War 2 to about the 1990s, would be? Weight, length, manufacturers, etc.? Since the 1990s they have slowly been replaced with multi-purpose tools, or axes that are poly or fiberglass handles. More interested in the makers and specs, and pics of course, of wood-handled axes that served.
 
Tall order! In USA they are likely domestic-made axes that were merely painted olive drab but you never know. Militaries have been known to pay thousands of dollars each just for ordinary-looking airplane toilet seats so $100 specific ID stamps and coats of camo paint on $10 hardware store choppers wouldn't surprise me.
 
All the ones I have seen were 4 pound Dayton pattern. 36" fawns foot handles. The whole thing painted green. Some are marked US. I have one around here somewhere. Mine is a True Temper.
 
Thanks for the info, gents. The question was posted mainly due to my interest in military vehicles, I am a senior member on steelsoldiers.com which is a site devoted to the use and restoration of military trucks and other vehicles, and the topic has come up a few times online and at rallies amongst friends and vendors, as to the specs of what the military axes are. Most of the manuals we have seen refer to them as "axe, 1 ea" and the NSN number, but none of us have seen any dedicated specs as to size, weight, and contractors of the axes themselves.

If I find one at a swap meet, will be sure to post pics and the measurements of what I find.
 
While waiting for Double Ott to show up with some more information, a previous post from him said the military axe specs were:

AXE: Single bit, 4 lb head weight, 4.750 inch cutting head, 31.00 inch handle length, Federal Spec GGG-A-926, type 1, class 1, design A.

Double Ott said:
Many of these axes were carried in Pioneer Racks on military vehicles like pictured. The rack also carried a shovel and pick axe. The pick axe was carried with the handle and the head separate.

The military specs for them was:

AXE: Single bit, 4 lb head weight, 4.750 inch cutting head, 31.00 inch handle length, Federal Spec GGG-A-926, type 1, class 1, design A.

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Tom
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Found some information compiled by a guy named John Barton at this site:
http://jeepdraw.com/John_Barton2-AXES.html

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Source: John Barton, jeepdraw.com
 
Good work, Steve. I wish there was a higher res. image available with the handle dimensions legible.
 
Having purchased about 30 of these axes for a workshop I can verify that 4# Dayton heads on 36" handles were standard. Made by everyone from True Temper, Council, Collins, and Woodings-Verona. Usually painted entirely from head to foot in OD green, desert tan, or black. I actually just found about 9 old handles from the lot I bought a couple years ago.

 
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This is the TrueTemper I got from the military surplus store I once worked at. They had four axes, all had been OD but repainted totally black, and the paint was so thick you couldn't tell what was what. I took a chance on this one as my first rehang (all the handles were too far gone to be saved, but were the 36" w/ fawn's foot) since it was the best edge of the lot. Another guy about a year later grabbed one and it was a collins. Both were marked 4 lbs and USA.

Josh
 
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