Original Item: Only One Set Available. This is a very nice WWII German Wehrmacht Heer (Army) field gear set, consisting of an original issue steel belt and buckle, two 98K triple ammo pouches, and a very nice Luftschutz Sanitätstasche (Air raid medical bag). All items are German marked and dated, and really do make a great set.
The set is held together with an EM/NCO’s Steel Belt Buckle (Koppelschloß) with correct leather belt. The buckle is embossed with the Heer motto GOTT MIT UNS (“God with us”) surrounding a NSDAP Party Eagle. Nice fieldgrey painted steel construction box buckle with a smooth background. The buckle is in good condition, with probably about 75% of the original paint remained, and wear on the edges. There is also some oxidation where the paint has worn off. The maker mark R.S. & S. can still be seen inside the buckle which represents Richard Sieper & Söhne of Lüdenscheid, a German city with a large garment accessories industry.
The belt itself measures 41” when fully extended, and is in good service worn condition. The black finish on the exterior is quite worn, but still visible, and the leather is soft, with no major cracking. The leather tab for size adjustment looks to have been moved once, and then removed altogether, with holes added to directly mount the buckle to the belt. It is also stamped 102 at one end, for a length of 102cm.
Secured around the back of the belt is the Luftschutz Medical case, which measures about 7 1/2″ x 4″ x 4 1/2″, and is maker marked and dated on the back between the belt loops:
PAUL KLOPFER
BERLIN1939
Below this it is marked with a Waffenamt WaA100 inspection stamp. Inside the lid there are some ink markings as well as a label that reads Inhaltsverzeichnis Luftschutz=Sanitätstasche (Contents Air Raid Medical Bag), and a list of contents is given below that. Condition is very good, with just a bit of staining from age, and a lovely red color.
The two pebble-grain leather pouches included are in good used condition, and do not have any major leather issues, though one has some stitching pulled. The finish is somewhat worn, and they definitely show age, but they are in solid condition. Both look to originally have been brown, and then dyed black on the front. The internal separators are still present in 5 of 6 pockets, and most of the rivets and snaps are sound. Both are fitted with aluminum D-rings on the back, and aluminum rivet studs on the bottom. Both have maker markings on the back, however the pebble grain texture makes them hard to read. We can see that one is dated 1940, and the other 1942, below their maker marks.
Looking at this set, it seems somewhat typical of late war use, perhaps during the days when the German Luftwaffe was destroyed, and the Allies were able to bomb with relative impunity. This might have been issued to a soldier who had to both prepare to repel invaders as well as clean up after an air raid. Definitely some great research potential here.