DAK Belt or Tropical?

[Discostu]

Hello,

I am new to the site and have tons of items to post, one of which is the Afrika Corps (I beleive) belt and buckle. Could someone kindly point out if this is tropical or DAK? There is a very faint makers mark on the buckle (looks like CPD 1942 or something), the belt is marked 95 and the condition of both are excellent.

Also how do I attach attachments? It says I am not currently allowed! The pictures of the belt (which I am selling) are here: http://russellmilitaria.thebiestsc.com/traders.html

Thanks for the help guys!

Stu

[Stu W]

Hi guys,

Here are some photos of Stuart's belt and buckle. Can anyone knowledge in this field please comment on the issue of DAK vs. Tropical? I've read that the depth of the color is one indicator of DAK, but not the only one. In hand these certainly are green as opposed to the those ones I've seen pictured with the lighter yellowish tint to them. However, when viewing photos shown in threads located through the Search feature I see some that are even darker green.

The buckle, a Dickie, is marked CTD 1942.

If additional photos will help please let me know and I'll take and post them as I'd like to get this sorted out ASAP.

Thanks you for your assistance.

Regards,
Stu

[Stu W]

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[Stu W]

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[Stu W]

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[lach470]

You certainly have legit pieces there. Hard to tell wether the buckle is DAK/tropical or not. I say that as there is not web tab attached which would clearly indicate if it was manufactured for that theatre of war.
The belt looks like it's in nice unissued condition. I'm not sure what the significance of the yellow vs. green colours mean....If I was to give an educated guess, I would assume the more "yellow" web belts would fit better with the African desert and the "green" web belts would have been used more for areas such as Italy, Crete and Greece.
Just my two cents though....regardless - these are perfectly legit pieces.
They look fantastic!
Cheers!
Rob

[NZMark]

Indeed original un-issued items, but not a set.
Due to it not having been issued it cannot be seen as a 'DAK' item as opposed to a 'tropical' piece. In regards to webbing colours the fact is the first webbed equipment to see issue in North Africa was all olive/green. In 1941 the change-over took place in coloured webbing which saw tan/olive, olive/brown webbing introduced into service (including standard webbed 'Y' straps with leather central retainers as opposed to the 1940 manufactured olive/green webbed Y's with a retainer made from a flat webbed panel). We also start to see the 'fish-roe' weave seen here in 1941, a variation from manufacturers that I am still studying. I have an NZ veteran webbed belt from North Africa exactly as the one pictured (unfortunately semi-destroyed in a house fire but still worth keeping for educational interest).
The buckle itself is not tropical without a webbed tongue, but that's simply my thoughts.
Thanks for sharing!
Mark

[Jody]

Tropical belt and buckle

Hello,
I also agree that the buckle needs to have a webbed tongue to be tropical.

I agot my webbed belt and buckle from an Arizona veteran that had fought in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.

Here is the buckle and you can see the tongue and so I consider it tropical or DAK.

Regards,
Jody

[Stu W]

Thank you all for the information you have supplied. I greatly appreciate it.

It's now clear to me that I got off on the wrong foot while trying to learn about these items. (Note to self: In the future don't venture far from the Edged Weapons Forum.)

I had the impression that the Olive/Green was specific to DAK throughout the campaign at all times and that any other variation was Tropical and not to be found in Afrika. I was not aware of the overlap in the time line. In addition I felt the buckles, tabbed or not, would be similarly colored to match.

So, if I understand this correctly now, I have an olive/green belt that likely would have been made in 40, married after the fact to a standard Heer buckle made in 42. The belt, unissued, could well have become a DAK belt had it made the trip over to Afrika but could just as easily have been Tropical had it ended up in Italy.

Correct?

Again, thanks to you all.

Regards,
Stu

[NZMark]

Hi Stu,
That sums it up nicely, but a small correction - If a belt of this type has no maker's stamp and date then it could be made anytime from 1941 through to 1945....the only webbed belts I have owned or seen from 1940 are olive green with webbed tongues with slitted holes for the buckles. (Then we start talking about sewn or cloth or leather finished ends, but that's a different story).
Here's one of my 1940 belts for comparison. (The buckle is a 1941 Brehmer).
Nice Gustav Brehmer buckle you have Jody! Also a 1941 dated example? (Take a look between the tongue and buckle face - you should see a date stamped on the inner surafce).
Learning the weave and colours of webbed belts etc is a dicipline all of it's own, and I'm unlearning a lot as I learn more...
Mark.

[Michael Kuligowski]

belt that Mark posted is a textbook early green DAK belt - thats how it should like for a nice DAK display.

most yellow colored belts around are LW or KM tropical belts IMHO

belt in question is one of many found in austria some years ago - as I remember most from that batch was 42 dated and made by LLG HESSEN.

I would not give them any particular designation other than Heer web belts - and I bet that after 42/43 they could see service averywhere - from tunisia, italy, balkans to east front

[Stu W]

Hi Michael,

Thank you for your input. I'm certainly learning more about these belts every day.

Regards,
Stu

[Jody]

Nice Gustav Brehmer buckle you have Jody! Also a 1941 dated example? (Take a look between the tongue and buckle face - you should see a date stamped on the inner surafce).
Mark.

Hi Mark,
You are correct, there is a 1941 date on that buckle. I have never seen that until now-thanks.

Here is my belt, it appears to have been shortened by the soldier who wore it. Am I safe to say that this belt is for DAK.

Regards,
Jody

[NZMark]

Hi Mark,
You are correct, there is a 1941 date on that buckle. I have never seen that until now-thanks.

Here is my belt, it appears to have been shortened by the soldier who wore it. Am I safe to say that this belt is for DAK.

Regards,
Jody

Yes! Nice personalization on the belt, too. Not uncommon to see the end cut off to allow it to sit within the buckle's body if the pins were used on the last set of tongue holes.
She's a keeper!
Mark

[Jody]

DAK Belt

Yes! Nice personalization on the belt, too. Not uncommon to see the end cut off to allow it to sit within the buckle's body if the pins were used on the last set of tongue holes.
She's a keeper!
Mark

Hi Mark,
Well it is nice to be able to say that I have a DAK belt and buckle. Yes, as you can see the buckle was used on the last two tongue holes. The set-up goes nicely with my M-40 cap.

Regards,
Jody