Tabbed Luftwaffe EM Buckle

Product Description: This tabbed Luftwaffe EM Buckle is a nice, worn example of a German Air Force belt buckle. It’s made of two pieces of aluminum. The front roundel is stamped and hollow, and is affixed to the pebbled solid buckle body with four prongs. It never had any painted finish. The obverse of the buckle shows strong traces of daily wear, that has obscured some of the detail at the high points of the design. There is a light and uncleaned patina from age. There is a dent on the front above the eagle. On the reverse, this Luftwaffe EM Buckle shows signs of having been worn on a belt. The four prongs from the roundel are visible and intact. The integral catch for the belt hook remains functional. The roller bar and prongs assembly is steel, and retains the original leather tab. The tab is made of a nice pebbled leather, dyed black, and showing wear. The tab has a nice maker mark of the firm of Noelle & Hueck in Lüdenscheid, and is dated 1940. All of the original stitching is still present on the tab. This buckle has an appealing look, and remains in very good condition.

Historical Description: The belt buckle was an important part of the regalia worn by all uniformed military, civil, political, and paramilitary organizations during the Third Reich. The belt (“Koppel”) was part of the uniform and would always be worn while on duty. The belt buckle (“Koppelschloss”) was generally specific to each organization, with many organizations having separate belt buckles for officers and for enlisted personnel, sometimes with different colors and finishes to further denote specific purposes. The buckles were adorned with various mottos and designs specific to the organizations for which they were intended. Many designs used the German national eagle emblem, in a variety of forms. Belt buckles were worn with uniforms ranging from finely tailored officer parade uniforms, to the issue uniforms of enlisted soldiers in combat. Generally speaking, most German belt buckles of the Third Reich were made with two prongs on the reverse, to allow the buckle to be worn and adjusted on a belt. The buckle had a catch that would mate with a hook on the belt, when worn. The earliest Third Reich buckles were often made of brass, or nickel silver. Later, aluminum became very common, and was used on private purchase as well as enlisted buckles of the German military, with or without a painted or plated finish. After WWII began, most enlisted military buckles were steel. Nazi belt buckles were popular souvenirs for Allied troops who served in Europe. Some types were made by the millions and remain quite common today. Others were made in limited numbers and are very rare.

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