German WW2 Combat Y straps Black Leather By Richard Underwood Militaria

The combat Y straps Tragegestell are the standard straps which form the basis of the combat equipment set and where used by all services including the Waffen SS and Army (Heer). They hold the weight of the belt and a rucksack or the combat A frame can clip onto the back of the straps.

These high quality combat straps are made in Europe using quality leather which is supple so shapes to the body easily and the finish does not crack when you bend the leather.

This is the model of Y straps that was introduced sometime after 1941. At the beginning of the war the leather on the German Y straps was all black. After this model the German army (like most countries did) introduced a simplified version usually to speed up production. These replicas are of the simplified version of the Y straps which was one of the most common seen during WW2.

The Tragegestell have all the features of the original including:

• Main strap which supports the cartridge belts has 8 adjustment button holes.
• Auxiliary strap (the strap that connects to the bottom of the assault A frame) has 12 adjustment button holes.
• The rivet that joins the auxiliary strap onto the main strap is unpainted (really early models where painted) and the protective leather square on the back is folded and is stitched down two sides the first model was stitched on three sides.
• The back of the leather straps are polished but left un-dyed, the fronts of the straps are black. This includes the section of strap that is turned back on its self where it is stitched to the metal ring on the back so it leaves an exposed section of leather brown colour. On the really early models this exposed section of leather would have been dyed black like the rest of the strap.
• All the metal buckles are painted grey.

Richard A Underwood product code is 15607