Scarce Africa Luft rig

[Marc verstraete]

Hello all,

This is a very nice rig I picked up during my visit in the US.
Obviously a veterans item, this belt and buckle set is very interesting for the following reasons:

The buckle is olive green painted with a web belt with tan catch. The buckle is marked GB and dated 41, the belt 1942. It shows the use of an olive green buckle with a belt made for a tan buckle. The soldier who had this belt also made it shorter and invented a system where he could hook the belt catch to the buckle or if needed a little bid shorter to the hole he made in the belt. So he could have two sizes without to have to change the buckle on the belt.
It is almost certain that this belt and buckle came from a LW POW who was captured in Africa and transported to a prisoner camp in the US. (Or Canada)
The name and rank of the soldier are written on the leather tab of the buckle but unfortunately not readable except for U. Off (NCO).
Original LW web belts are extremely scarce and often W.H Africa-corps belts are mistakenly taken for LW tropical belts, it is the first time I encounter this variation with tan catch.

Marc

[Marc verstraete]

Although the previous picture has the tendency to show the buckle blue, it is in fact olive as one can see on the back.

[Marc verstraete]

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[Gene]

Be careful. I was once offered a single decal M42 Luftwaffe helmet that was supposedly named. When I got it, the rank of the guy was written as "U-off". The correct abbreviation for Unteroffizier is "Uffz" and I have never seen this misspelled.

[Marc verstraete]

Uffz is indeed what is marked in front of the name. ( I have to guess, but it looks like it) In my previous mail I was just too lazy to spell it . Anyway, no question about the authenticity of this piece. The prisoner story might be questionable but not the belt itself.
Marc