Original German WWII Rare Luftwaffe Afrikakorps DAK Web Belt with EM/NCO Tropical Painted Steel Buckle

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very rare totally genuine WWII Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK) tropical waist belt, with correct Luftwaffe EM/NCO's Steel Painted Belt Buckle (Koppelschloß). It is embossed with the wartime Luftwaffe straight tail eagle on a pebbled central field, surrounded by a laurel leaf wreath. The buckle is of 1940 pattern, die stamped, steel (magnetic) construction, and was overpainted with a lovely dark tropical tan color during the war. This is almost orange in color, possibly from staining, and there is wear on the exterior to the raised portions of the front. he reverse has more paint present, and we can see that the buckle was originally blue, but got quite worn and was repainted during the war. It has a fantastic look that is impossible to duplicate.

The DAK tan colored web belt has a brown leather tab with the usual double rows of seven holes for length adjustment, with the leather displaying a lovely chestnut brown color, showing only light wear. The belt does not look to have been used much, but was definitely stored for a long time, which resulted in some staining to the web, possibly from the leather adjustment tab. The belt measures 34 inches in overall length, and there are some faded markings near the clip end. Both ends of the belt have tan stitching over the ends to prevent fraying. The steel end clip of the belt has lost most of the paint, and shows a good amount of oxidation.

Overall a lovely example of a very rare belt and buckle from the Luftwaffe division of the Deutsches Afrikakorps, DAK!

History of the German Africa Corps

The Afrikakorps or German Africa Corps (German: Deutsches Afrikakorps, DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of their African colonies, the formation fought on in Africa, under various appellations, from March 1941 until its surrender in May 1943. The unit's best known commander was Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.

The dry climate of Africa proved to be an issue with much of the standard leather field gear that the German Army usually used. It would dry out and crack quickly, and become unusable. To deal with this, the standard field gear such as belts, Y-straps, A-frames, bayonet frogs, and other items, were issued in special tropical web versions.