Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very rare totally genuine very good condition WWII Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK) tropical waist belt, with the correct Luftwaffe EM/NCO's Aluminum Belt Buckle (Koppelschloß). It is embossed with the wartime Luftwaffe straight tail eagle on a pebbled central field, surrounded by a wreath. Nice aluminum construction box buckle with a pebbled background. The buckle is in good condition, and is a single piece injection molded and crimped example. It does show some surface wear, common due to the softer aluminum alloy.

The inside of the buckle has more of the original paint, and is marked near the loop with a Sideways H over A next to 39, for 1939 manufacture by Hermann Aurich of Dresden, a known manufacture of these pebbled aluminum buckles.

The DAK tan colored web belt has a brown leather tab with the usual seven double vertically holes for length adjustment. The tan end stitching is fully intact, and the belt measures 37 inches in overall length. It is stamped 100 near the buckle, for a length of 100cm (39.3in.) with the buckle installed. The belt is really in very good shape, and is also marked on the interior with post war Czech Reissue markings, showing the Czech Lion and a date of 1947. This was a year before the Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia. Definitely some interesting history and potential for research!

Overall a great example of a very rare belt and buckle from the Luftwaffe division of the Deutsches Afrikakorps, later reissued in post war Czechoslovakia. Ready to research and display!

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.