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MILLS No. 170 HORIZONTAL POCKETED PISTOL BELT -
DESIGNED TO CARRY TWO MAGAZINES FOR THE MODEL 1911 COLT
PISTOL WITH FOUR ADDITIONAL POCKETS FOR LOOSE ROUNDS -
RIMMED EAGLE SNAP – AN EXCELLENT SPECIMEN OF A VERY RARE
BELT ISSUED TO BOTH U.S. ARMY SOLDIERS AND UNITED STATES
MARINES: Considered by many collectors to be
the rarest of Mills pocketed cartridge belts, this Mills
No. 170 Horizontal Pistol Belt was specifically designed
to carry the magazines and ammunition for the Model 1911
Automatic Colt Pistol in a very unique configuration.
Rather than carrying the magazines together on one side
of the belt in a vertical configuration as with the
Model 1916 Magazine pouch, this belt was configured to
carry the magazines with one on each side of the belt
which balanced the load, and with the magazines oriented
in line with the belt for a more comfortable carry.
The No. 170 Mills Horizontal Pistol Belt first appeared
in the ca. 1914 Mills Woven Cartridge Belt Company
catalog, advertising the belt as “regulation for
officers of the U.S. Marine Corps”. While it is
believed by some that this catalog reference was more of
an advertising ploy rather than a statement of fact of
an existing contract or arrangement with the Marine
Corps, an article published in the Military Collector
and Historian, the magazine published by the Company
of Military Historians, written by William Phillips and
Carter Rila, included photographic evidence that this
belt was indeed issued to the Marines - both officers
and enlisted men.
Placing this belt in a significant historical context,
the photograph below shows this pattern of belt being
worn by Private William Bihary, 2nd Division,
6th Marines, 73rd Machine Gun
Company, and it is believed the image was taken in 1916
during his service in the Haitian or Santo Dominican
revolutions.
Additional photographic evidence of this belt being worn
by marines is published in Equipping the Corps –
1892-1937, by Alec Tulkoff (strongly recommend this
very well done reference) which illustrate that this
belt apparently saw fairly wide usage in the Marine
Corps.
Designed to carry two loaded magazines for the Model
1911 Automatic Colt Pistol, the belt features a right
and left carrier (or section) – each with one magazine
pocket oriented horizontally, or parallel to the belt
body, and two smaller pockets which each carried seven
loose rounds of ammunition for reloading the magazines.
This arrangement provided a substantial supply of 42
rounds of ammunition, particularly important for an
officer or soldier armed only with the pistol. The
right and left carriers were joined at the back of the
belt with an adjustment strap. Each carrier section is
fitted with eyelets along the bottom edge for attaching
a holster, first aid pouch and other related equipment.
It is interesting to note that while the eyelets on the
right carrier are the standard round version, the
eyelets on the left carrier are the same oval version
found on the Model 1910 Cartridge Belts, which
accommodated two carrying wires, allowing the
accoutrements to be carried side by side and increasing
the carrying potential of the belt.
This belt is in very good to excellent condition, but it
does show minor indications that it was issued and
worn. All of the rimless eagle snaps are intact with no
tearing or wear around the snaps, all of the snaps
function properly, and all of the grommets are intact
with none having pulled through the webbing. Both of
the belt’s metal end pieces retain the original darkened
finish and they bear the Mills Company logo and patent
information. Both carriers and the rear adjustment
strap all bear a legible ink stamped Mills “Bullet” logo
– much more legible when viewed in person than could be
captured by the limits of digital photography. There is
only one point of slight wear at the lower corner of the
right magazine pocket flap as can be seen in the
photograph below. All of the pockets and flaps retain
their full form. There are no other signs of wear,
fading, tearing or other damage on this belt with all of
the flaps and pockets in very nice condition.
Introduced in the early years of the 20th
Century, these pocketed pistol belts were carried in
numerous conflicts around the world to include the
Punitive Expedition into Mexico, actions in Central and
South America and along the Pacific Rim, and World War
One, resulting in a low survival rate which is evidenced
by their rarity today – particularly in such nice
condition as this specimen. Rare pieces such as this
belt normally move very quietly from one collection to
another in private sales, never emerging to surface on
collector’s market. It is a true pleasure to be able to
offer this belt for your consideration.
This is an excellent specimen and it will be a choice
addition to your collection.
SOLD
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