Belt lock
A belt lock is the metal buckle of a belt that belongs to a uniform - such a belt is called a "belt". Originally it was a military name. The general use of belt locks began around the middle of the 19th century. They were produced in different shapes, for example as a box lock in embossed form or just as a metal plate. There were belt locks made of painted sheet metal, tombac , nickel silver , brass or two types of metal (base plate with support).
For police , fire service and aid organizations in Germany Koppelschlösser are no longer used in general. On the other hand, they have also found their way into belts in general clothing fashion.
Attachment
The belt buckles were usually attached to the - originally only leather - straps with a two-pin buckle on the underside. On the other hand, they were closed with a hook and eye . The eyelet is located on the underside of the belt lock, into which the other end of the strap with the hook attached there can be inserted. If the bar of a pin buckle - usually a two-pin buckle - is designed in such a way that it is suitable for hooking, it can take on the role of the eyelet. In this case, such two-prong buckles are sometimes referred to as a belt lock.
After Austria-Hungary started to manufacture the belts from woven material due to a lack of rawhide during the First World War , the lock was clamped onto the belt. The latter method was also common in the Bundeswehr up to the cladding of stone gray (also called olive green) in camouflage print on the web belt field belt.
In the case of the woven belts of the National People's Army and the US Army , on the other hand, the lock was continuously fixed by means of a clamping pin.
Different patterns
Different belt locks were used by earlier armed forces . The following is a list of patterns.
Until 1918
- Kingdom of Prussia and the smaller countries that had joined the Prussian military convention ( Baden , Oldenburg , Hanseatic cities and Thuringian states ): The Prussian royal crown with (above) half the inscription GOTT MIT UNS and (below) half a laurel wreath, brass lock with nickel silver shield.
- For the troops of the German Empire (sea battalions, navy, protection force): The German imperial crown with (above) half the inscription GOTT MIT UNS and (below) half oak leaves, brass lock with nickel silver shield.
-
Kingdom of Saxony : Castle (with depending on the buttons) in nickel silver or tombak with an inverted round piece - Saxon royal crown with (above) three-quarters of the inscription PROVIDENTIAE MEMOR (remembering Providence) and (below) a quarter of oak leaves.
- The infantry regiment "Prinz Johann Georg" No. 107: Brass lock with a nickel silver disc with the intertwined letters JG and above the royal crown.
- The rifle regiment No. 108: brass lock and nickel silver disc, in it twice the letter G (intertwined against each other) and above the royal crown.
- Kingdom of Bavaria : Pattern like Prussia, but with a Bavarian royal crown and the words IN TREUE FEST.
-
Grand Duchy of Hesse : brass lock with embossed grand ducal crown.
- Bodyguard -Infanterieregiment No. 115. Neusilbernes lock with crown.
- Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin : brass lock with applied, new silver guard star and grand ducal coat of arms.
- Kingdom of Württemberg : brass lock with applied, new silver disc, in it the royal coat of arms and the inscription FURCHTLOS UND TREW.
- Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz : Brass lock with a new silver disc with the Grand Ducal coat of arms.
The cavalry did not wear belt locks, but belts with two-pin buckles.
Austria-Hungary
In Austria-Hungary , the land forces of the Austro-Hungarian Army and the Imperial and Royal Landwehr wore a brass lock with a detachable double-headed eagle, the ku Landwehr (Honvéd) a brass lock with a removable royal Hungarian coat of arms. From November 6, 1915, only the new belt lock (with double coat of arms) should be used. As in Germany, the increasing scarcity of materials meant that locks were manufactured in all possible materials and designs.
Reichswehr until 1933
The Reichswehr initially only wore a simple buckle lock on the unit belt, from 1925 a box lock based on the old Prussian model with a Republican hexagonal eagle (instead of a royal crown) and the inscription GOTT MIT UNS.
Wehrmacht until 1945
The Wehrmacht wore the belt lock according to the Prussian pattern with the swastika eagle, differently with a half wreath made of oak leaves and the inscription GOTT MIT UNS ( air force and navy different).
Officers did not wear a belt with their service and dress uniform. For the former, there was a leather belt with a two-pin buckle. At parades , a belt was created that was modeled on the field bandage (instead of the box, a disk that was hooked into a ring). Such a lock was also used by the Waffen SS and some party formations of the NSDAP .
After 1945
armed forces
The belt lock of the Bundeswehr , which is only worn with the army with a large service suit, bears the German federal eagle and the legend Unity - Law - Freedom . It consists of polished, grained white metal - in the case of the navy and generals made of brass. In normal operation, the soldiers also wear an olive-green lacquered brass belt lock without decorations.
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National Peoples Army
The belt lock of the NVA bore the state coat of arms of the GDR . There were versions made of grained white metal and aluminum.
literature
- Rest, Ortner, Ilming: The emperor's rock in the 1st World War. Verlag Militaria, Vienna 2002, ISBN 3-9501642-0-0 .
- Jürgen Kraus: The German army in World War I - uniforms and equipment. Verlag Militaria, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-9501642-5-1 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Duden online: coupling lock ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Duden online: Koppel, das or die
