Unidentified British / Commonwealth Web Belt?

[landsknechte]

Just found this web belt at a thrift store this afternoon. It bears a certain familial resemblance to some British webbing, but I am so far out of my area of expertise, that I can't identify it. Anyone know what this might be? There are no markings that I can find anywhere on the cloth or the brass fittings.

[Tony]

It looks like Patt. 37 to me. http://www.karkeeweb.com/patterns/1937/1937_belts.html

Tony

[theironduke1]

It is definitely not British. It is a completely different structure than the '37 pattern. The clasp is not the same, there were no slider buckles on the front and the buckles for the rear straps are too far apart. Not sure what country it is from though.

[Tony]

Oh yes you're correct, looks like I need glasses.

Did the Belgian or Israeli army use anything similar?

[peter monahan]

When I was in college - back when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth - there was a fad for web belts, khaki bags and other such militaria among youngsters, including me, who'd never served in an army. When the supply of surplus began to dry up - late '70s, early '80s - the factories of South East Asia jumped in and produced countless variations on Pattern 37 webbing. Many were actual copies but a good number were 'in the style of': khaki web, brass fittings, etc, but no attempt to be faithful to the originals.

Are there any stamps, however blurry, on the belt? That is usually a sign that it was military issue at some point in its life.

peter

[theironduke1]

It appears to be a 'lighter' duty belt than the normal load bearing kit. Having struggled in and out of '58 pattern webbing more times than I want to remember, I can't imagine this belt holding up to much wear & tear. I wonder if it is one worn by Military Police or some such. The nearest thing I saw to it in the two NATO uniform books I have is in the Netherlands army of the 1980s.