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MODEL 1914 MILLS MOUNTED CARTRIDGE BELT – RIMLESS
EAGLE SNAP – AN EXCELLENT SPECIMEN OF A FAIRLY RARE
BELT – ID’d TO THE 622ND AERO SQUADRON –
EARLY KELLY FIELD AVIATION RELATED ACCOUTREMENT:
Incorporating the various features which had required
the modification of the earlier patterns of woven
pocketed belts, or had resulted in those earlier belts
being abandoned all together for later patterns, the
Model 1914 Mounted Cartridge Belt was the first belt in
this class that seemed to be “in step” with the current
issue of weapons and ammunition. This two piece belt
incorporated the rear adjusting strap which allowed for
proper sizing to the individual trooper, and the left
section of the belt provided for the open space at the
front end for carrying the Model 1911 Pistol Magazine
Pocket.
Most of the surviving examples of the Model 1914 Mounted
Cartridge Belt were the later production belts made by
Russell and were fitted with the lift-the-dot snaps.
The earliest production of these belts, such as the one
offered here, was manufactured by the Mills Woven Belt
Company in very limited numbers and they were fitted
with the rimmed eagle snaps. This Mills manufactured
early pattern Model 1914 Mounted Cartridge Belt is so
scarce that Dorsey did not have access to an example to
include in his US Martial Web Belts and Bandoliers:
1903-1981.
In addition to this belt’s inherent scarcity, it is
stenciled on the inside of the rear adjusting belt “622TH
AERO SUPPL 60”, indicating it was issued within the
ranks of the 622ND Aero Supply Squadron,
which as the designation implies was a supply unit
within the U.S. Army’s aviation squadrons. Two elements
of the inked stencil are worth comment – first, the use
of “TH” vs. “ND” as the proper suffix for the unit
number. Apparently, either the soldier doing the
stenciling was unfamiliar with the proper numeral/suffix
agreement, or perhaps “TH” was the suffix stamp they had
made up at the time and it was all that was available at
the bench at that given time. The second element that
is notable is that the last digit of the squadron number
appears to have been originally stamped as a “3” and was
over stamped with a “2”, or vice versa. This is easily
explainable, as both the 622ND and the 623RD
Aero Supply Squadrons were organized within a month of
each other – January and February, respectively - in
1918 at Kelly Field, San Antonio, Texas. Both units
were moved to the east coast by the spring of 1918,
presumably to prepare for deployment to Europe, but the
war ended before they shipped over, and both units were
demobilized in December of that year.
In the event you question why soldiers assigned to an
Aero Supply Squadron would require these pocketed
cartridge belts, this period photograph illustrates an
enlisted man of the 1ST Aero Squadron ca.
1916 on the Texas-Mexico Border, dug in beneath one of
the heavy trucks used to convey the unit’s
supplies which apparently was part of a perimeter around
his unit’s temporary camp on that frontier. As with any
soldier on the front, serving in any capacity, he was
required to be properly armed and equipped.
This belt is in overall very good to excellent
condition, showing very little evidence of use, with no
wear or fraying to the belt body, pockets or flaps, and
all of the grommets are present and none have pulled
through the webbing. The inner surface of both front
pocket flaps are legibly ink stamped “MILLS” inside the
bullet logo cartouche, and both stamps bear the same
date, “DEC 1916”. The rear adjusting belt is also
legibly stamped with the same Mills logo and the same
matching date. All the rimmed eagle snaps are firmly
attached and fully functional with none having pulled
through the webbing as is so often found on these early
belts. Each cartridge pocket has the full length clip
retaining strap and each of these straps has a fully
functional snap set, all fully intact with no sign of
pulling through the material in which they are mounted.
The right front pocket flap is fitted with a cavalry
unit identification disc that appears to have been on
the belt since its period of use. Both of the adjusting
belt tips are legibly stamped with the Mills Woven Belt
Company logo on one side and the patent information on
the other.
Overall this is a very attractive belt, one that is
identified to an early US Army aviation unit, and it is
one of the scarcer, and more desirable, of the pre-World
War One U.S. Army woven pocketed cartridge belts.
SOLD
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