Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice Pre-WWII German Wehrmacht Luftwaffe EM/NCO’s Pebbled Aluminum Belt Buckle (Koppelschloß), with the correct leather belt. The buckle is embossed with an early pattern “Droop Tail” Luftwaffe Eagle inside a laurel wreath on the front. Only the earliest Luftwaffe material was marked with this eagle, which later had a tail that extended out more to the left. It is the standard cast aluminum “box” pattern with a pebbled texture on the front, and is not maker marked on the metal. The buckle is in very good condition, with the pebbling well retained, and some of the detail in the eagle present. There is definitely some wear, to be expected on an aluminum buckle that has seen much service.
The buckle still retains the leather tab, which is manufacturer marked and dated, though very faint:
Wilh. Deumer
1936
Lüdenscheid
On the other side, it is also stamped L.B.A., 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. There are some additional markings which may be a unit designation.
The belt itself measures about 38” from end to end, made from thick black leather. There is a second set of stitch marks for the size adjustment tab, so at one point it was about 4 inches longer. It is in very good service worn condition, and conforms exactly to the early pattern, with an aluminum clip on the end.
Overall a very nice example of a hard to find WWII German Belt and buckle with lots of patina. Ready to research and display!