German WWII Pattern Load Bearing Assist Strap, Two Hooks
This item is listed for historical interest only. It was listed on our site previously but has been sold and is no longer available for purchase.
Sold for: $65.00

Original era manufacture. Heavy tan canvas strap, with an unmarked, green painted, cast steel snap hook on each end. On one side is a folded steel hook, mounted in the strap body just above the snap hook. I have found little information on these, but remembering purchasing a number of similar examples in the 26' box truck load of WWII German ammo cans, MG-34 basket magazine sets, and MG13 accessories back in the mid 1990's. Some of the snap hooks in our pile, but not all, had a small waffenamt proof stamped into the side bar of one of the snaphooks. All of this material was ex-Portuguese army, sold to them by the Germans around 1943 if memory serves. This hoard (ours was a very tiny portion of the total) is where most of the original tri-color camouflage large style ammo cans and other camo'ed equipment came from. A true time capsule. My opinion of these is they were intended to carry ammunition boxes, one on each end, hence the little bump in the handle of the German 250 round ammo box. The strap body hook slipped under the soldiers belt to help in the stabilizing of the load and allowing a little hands-free rest.