Original Item. Only One Available. This is a very good original U.S. Model 1910 dismounted rifle cartridge belt manufactured by the Mills Woven Cartridge Belt Company in 1915. It retains all ten ammunition pockets, the early rimless eagle snap fasteners, internal cartridge retaining straps, and Mills marked metal fittings.

The Model 1910 cartridge belt formed part of the standardized equipment adopted by the U.S. Army during the years immediately preceding WWI. This dismounted version was intended for infantrymen and other soldiers armed with a service rifle rather than mounted troops carrying both rifle and revolver ammunition.

The belt has ten ammunition pockets. Each pocket was designed to carry two five-round stripper clips of .30-06 rifle ammunition, providing a total capacity of 100 rounds. The cartridges could be carried for the Model 1903 Springfield or Model 1917 U.S. Enfield rifle, both of which were standard American service rifles during WWI.

Each pocket retains its internal web strap. These straps helped control one of the two cartridge clips and prevented the contents from shifting or falling from the pouch when it was opened. This internal strap arrangement is characteristic of belts manufactured before the large wartime production expansion of 1917 and 1918. The straps were eliminated from many later belts as construction was simplified and manufacturing costs were reduced.

Each pocket flap is secured by an early rimless eagle snap. The underside of the snap fasteners is marked MILLS MILITARY FASTENERS.

The rimless eagle design is associated with early M1910 equipment and predates the more familiar rimmed eagle snaps encountered on many later belts. The metal end fittings bear the Mills bullet trademark and several patent dates. The latest date is MAY 18TH, 1915.

The patent date is consistent with manufacture during or after 1915, but it is not necessarily an exact production date, so this example could’ve been made between 1915 and 1917.

The belt remains in very good overall condition. Some fraying is present in the woven material, but the belt remains substantially solid.

The complete ten-pocket arrangement, early rimless eagle snaps, internal retaining straps, and Mills bullet logo fittings preserve the principal construction details of an early M1910 dismounted cartridge belt. These belts equipped American soldiers before the nation entered WWI and continued in service with the first American Expeditionary Forces personnel sent to France in 1917.