Cuban military belt buckle

[Jim Hooper]

I'm trying to confirm the origin of these buckles, which were recovered from an insurgent weapon cache in Angola in 1987.

 

[Riker87]

Hello Jim, this belts are definitely Cuban, but soviet made. Some better pics you will find here. Scroll down to "belt". Unfortunately I hadn't a chance to write down the descricption in english and spanish. So it is only in german.This types of belts were produced in the factory for leather goods in Minks (Belorussian Soviet Republic).

[Jim Hooper]

Thank you, Riker87-- had I researched a little more diligently before posting the photo, I'd have found the Cuban coat of arms. I spent five months embedded with Koevoet, the South Africa COIN unit that hunted Swapo insurgents on both sides of the Namibia-Angola border. Many of the black and white members wore the plain Soviet buckles taken after contacts.

 

[pride]

On 16/10/2016 at 14:17, Riker87 said:

Hello Jim, this belts are definitely Cuban, but soviet made. Some better pics you will find here. Scroll down to "belt". Unfortunately I hadn't a chance to write down the descricption in english and spanish. So it is only in german.This types of belts were produced in the factory for leather goods in Minks (Belorussian Soviet Republic).

 

If i remember correctly the belt buckles in Batista's era (pre-revolution) were the same:  Cuba coat of arms and nothing more.

Right?

Edited November 30, 2017 by pride

[Jim Hooper]

Many thanks, Pride-- the Cuban buckles were fairly rare and so were grabbed by one of the operators as soon as they were lifted from the cache. I still have a pair of the more common Soviet-style buckles used by Swapo, with nothing on them - no star, no letters, just plain brass. Quite a few of the Ovambo trackers wore them as trophies - as did a few of the whites. Even more prized were the tan Soviet bush hats, which were rarely issued to the insurgents.

[cuba1959]

Model from 1957/58

[Riker87]

On 02/06/2019 at 21:50, cuba1959 said:

Model from 1957/58

I have to correct you. Such belts are soviet made and they are typical for 1970's and 1980's. You can find them on russian auction sites. Here a description with pictures from my collection.

[pride]

Milicias de tropas Territoriales (MTT) 

 

[Norman ben Nathan]

That is one beautiful buckle!