Luftwaffe belt - assistance would be most welcome

[Composite]

Guys...I'm not a belt man...and I don't know if this should be under "Equipment" or "Buckles" cos it's kinda both - hopefully a nice man will move it if it's incorrectly parked.

I was given this bring-back yesterday - my friends father (we're Brits - sorry by the way) brought it back but he had no more info about it or his dad's service. I've worked through a lot of posts here to make a start.....and from this "research" I THINK it's a pre-war Luftwaffe non-combat (Headquarters?) belt....although I'm not really sure what "Headquarters" means so I've assumed that Shiny = not subdued = not good in battle = Administrative AND I've subsequently checked the length and his waistline - it wasn't Herman's! It's dated on an oval stamp 1938, and has a quality (?) stamp LBA(S) and "Fl.H.Kdtr.Burg". The buckle isn't magnetic (I don't know if this matters but it's quite important in the Helmet world I live in!) but I can't find any marks on it but there is a diamond shape on the hook (there's probably a proper Belt-mans word for that bit - sorry). There's a stamp on a tab bit by the buckle that I can't make out but it looks like there's a "Burg" at the end. There appears to be the remnants of a paper label on a tabby bit which incidentally the stitching has broken on - this is the short bit with LBA on.....please forgive my use of highly technical terminology :-)

oh and it looks like a large "K" has been been cut into it (last pic)...but that's probably just a scratch

I would really like to go back to my friend with more info than he can see on the belt himself....although he's in his seventies and probably can't see as much as my camera's Macro setting showed me! At the moment, to him at least, it's "an old German belt that dad brought home - 'probably only worth a fiver"...and yes, I know "we don't do valuations here". But the fact is I will hand it back to him if there's anything special about it or if I find it has a reasonable value as it's not right that I retain it without him knowing....and it isn't helmet-shaped (sorry). It would be my first (and only) belt and would sit nicely with an SD Luft lid I have...but his friendship and trust is worth much much more.

Guys, what have I got here please...and who'd've worn it......I'm assuming a guy pushing pencils and not pushing 88 rounds into the fuser...





..and sorry about the Antipodean nature of some of the pics......

[Ben Evans]

At work at mo so not got much time to write but you have a very nice Luft set. I also believe these were probably issued together as a set which is hard to come by in itself. I have also never seen a matching Luft set only Heer. Very nice gift and will comment later when home from work.

[TWS]

Very nice belt/buckle from Fliegerhorst Burg, a Luftwaffe base near Magdeburg.

Kdtr usually means Kommandantur, or the headquarters of the base. Probably means your guy was stationed there as part of the permanent party/headquarters staff.

[Ben Evans]

The hook on the belt was made by Richard Sieper, would be a nice touch if the buckle was a Sieper made buckle as well

[Composite]

...all new to me...how do i tell if the buckle was made by Sieper please?

...and there was me thinking a belt's just a belt ;-)

[Ben Evans]

Its on the tab which is faded, will look later at the eagle or find a pic of a aluminium Sieper Luft eagle and see if they match

[weller]

Very nice set with lots of nice stampings. Here is a set I have that has most likely been together a long time:

1940 Hugo Lang w/Belt

[yellow12]

Hello,

nice ric together ........

Buckle was made by JMO , Julius Maurer Oberstein 1938

[Composite]

Wow...thank you all so much....so, to summarise...."just an old belt" is actually:-

- a belt from a German Airforce (Luftwaffe) unit (Admin) at Fliegerhorst Burg, a Luftwaffe base near Magdeburg
- having a belt (the leather bit) with the end pieces (metal bits) appears to be quite good / desirable
- the hook was made by Richard Sieper
- the buckle was made by Julius Maurer Oberstein...so buckle and hook are made by different people?
- its from 1938

...and so it would appear to be worth more than a fiver (I know...no valuations)...'looks like I need to 'fess-up as young folk say and return it to my mate....it wouldn't be right to hang onto it

All...I'm very grateful (and impressed) re the responses...this "belt world" really is quite interesting isn't it?.....'you lot ever thought of diving into the mysterious world of British Home Front helmets? :-)

[TWS]

That's the fascinating thing about this hobby. You can take what appears to be a simple item on the surface - "just an old belt" - in this case, and embark on a historical journey.