Rommel was often photographed wearing one of these in North Africa. The use of these belts would probably have spread throughout the Mediterranean theatre and, therefore, would have seen use after the fall of North Africa to the Allies in 1943. The pattern is modelled on the army officer's pre-war parade buckle.
This rare belt is in almost ex-stores condition - as far as the web and the leather is concerned, at any rate. The base metal of the buckle itself would appear to be zinc and it retains at least 95% of its original olive drab paint finish. There are maker marks and possibly a date on the reverse of the web, which I shall try and discover with a UV lamp.
These buckles rarely come on the market, because, I suspect, junior officers mostly seem to have contented themselves with the other ranks issue, when they bothered with a belt at all.
If you want to comment on this item—re quality, age, etc—please email me.
[Belt Buckles : Third Reich : Army]
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