Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice WWII German Wehrmacht Luftwaffe EM/NCO’s Belt Buckle (Koppelschloß) with an early war LBA marked correct leather belt. It is embossed with the wartime Luftwaffe straight tail eagle on a pebbled central field, surrounded by a wreath. The buckle is of 1940 pattern, die stamped, steel construction, with a dark blue/grey painted finish, which is still present on about 40% of the buckle exterior. The rest has worn off due to use, while the interior retains almost all of the paint. The buckle does not have a maker mark inside, and while it does have a leather tab, the maker marking on it is very faint, so we cannot make out any of it.
The belt itself measures about 40” when fully extended, and is in very good condition, showing moderate wear to the exterior. It still has the leather tab for attaching the buckle, though the buckle has actually been placed past that, with two new holes made, to make it a much shorter belt. It has a rare early war aluminum clasp on the end, over full maker information on the tab:
Leo Schmidt
O.H.G.
München 15
1939
Leo Schmidt of Munich is a well known maker of leather goods, usually seen on holsters and pouches. This is the first time we have seen this marking on a belt. Above this, it is also stamped L.B.A. (S), for Luftwaffebekleidungsamt, which means Air Force Clothing Office. This was only seen in the Pre-WWII and early war days, and makes this buckle very desirable.
Overall a very nice example of a service used early issue Luftwaffe Belt and Buckle. Ready to display!