US Victory Museum Posted June 21, 2019 Share #1 Posted June 21, 2019 During the twenty year period between the Spanish-AmericanWar, and the Great War (1898-1918), the American armyunderwent a revolution of modernization: from mule pulledwagons, to motor driven trucks; from balloon observation,to maneuverable aeronautic fighters. A board was convenedto field test and to evaluate web gear that would come tobe known as the 1910 equipment.While many are familiar with much of the approved itemsthat were adopted and issued en mass, there are some itemsthat only existed in small numbers; and taken with destructiveconsumption over the years, many collectors are not familiarwith these articles beyond some black-'n'-white photos fromold equipment catalogs, or some general text in equipmentallocation tables.This is one of two cartridge belts authorized for mountedtroops; both were produced by Mills and both designated"cartridge belt, cal. .30, model of 1910 (mounted)". Mills,in their catalog, distinguished between the two by callingone "style A", and the other "style B"; it seems, however,the army did not draw a distinction between the two whichcreates both difficulty and confusion when reading perioddocuments to determine which is being referred to.This post concerns "style B", which is the more rare betweenthe two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share #2 Posted June 21, 2019 The casual observer may be forgiven if he assumes thatthis is the "cartridge belt, cal. .30, model of 1914(mounted)" Upon first glance, they do appear almostidentical; however, this belt pre-existed the adoptionof the M1914 and its design by Rock Island Arsenal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share #3 Posted June 21, 2019 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share #4 Posted June 21, 2019 In a Government document produced by the US OrdnanceDepartment titled: Description of the Infantry EquipmentModel of 1910, published Mar. 11, 1912, revised Jul 02, 1914On page 15 may be found the following:CARTRIDGE BELT CALIBER .30, MODEL OF 1910 (MOUNTED).(Plate VII.)SPECIFICATIONS.-The specifications for the cartridgebelt, caliber .30 (mounted), are similar to those forthe cartridge belt, caliber .30 (dismounted), exceptas follows:The left pocket section shall have four pockets ofthe required size for holding two United States riflecartridge clips and in front of these a double wovenweb pocket for carrying two magazines for the automaticpistol, caliber .45, model of 1911. This pistol magazinepocket is manufactured separately, and is provided witha loop on the back through which the end of the cartridgebelt passes. This pocket is slipped on the belt and heldin place by the belt fastener which is difficult to passthrough the loop on the back of the magazine pocket. Thepocket is provided with a single flap which is furnishedwith two glove fasteners similar to those on the otherpockets of the belt.All metal trimmings shall be of brass or bronze, of dull-finished bronze color of the same shade as that prescribedfor the buttons of the service uniform of the United StatesArmy.The salient portion of Plate VII showing the belt, aswell as its nomenclature is included below. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share #5 Posted June 21, 2019 Since this post is about "style B" of the Cartridge Belt,Cal. .30, Model of 1910 (Mounted), it may be of assistanceto the novice collector to contrast it with the "style A"Cartridge Belt, Cal. .30, Model of 1910 (Mounted) whichmay be seen in the photo below: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share #6 Posted June 21, 2019 The terms mounted and cavalry are not synonyms; they cannotbe used fungibly. Mounted troops used horses for mobility, orto draw artillery and transportation wagons. They dismountwhen engaged in combat actions; cavalry fight from horseback.Infantry troops who were mounted in the 1910 period included,but were not limited to:Mounted Orderlies, Supply Companies, and Machine gun Companies.It was while researching M1910 Mounted belts that I cameacross the Infantry Equipment Manual (1914) produced bythe War Department and published by the Government PrintingOffice.Within were allocation tables, the numbers of which serveto quantify the relative scarcity of the mounted belts versusthe unmounted. Please remember, these numbers reflect 1914peace time troop strengths.A regiment had a strength of 918. This regiment totalincludes provisional organizations: HQ Co., MG Co., Supply Co.755 dismounted M1910 cartridge belts were allocated perregiment. In comparison, only 19 mounted M1910 cartridgebelts were allocated, and all of those were issued exclusivelyto the Headquarters Company. Accompanying the mounted belts,19 magazine pockets (web double) were exclusively issued to theHQ Co.The term magazine pockets refers to the two sided pouches forholding two magazines for the pistol, model 1911. Althoughit should seem that 19 is a small allocation for a regiment,I discovered that under the allocation of pistol belts (M1912)w/ and w/o saber rings that each belt was issued with a magazinepocket as a single unit. It must be remembered, by late 1913 those mounted M1910 belts,style A, were being modified by the removal of at least one pairof .45LC revolver pockets to adapt the belt to hold the magazinepouch for the 1911 .45 ACP. Those which were arsenal modifiedwere re-designated cartridge belt, cal. .30, model of 1910(M) -the "(M)" meaning modified.At this point, each belt would have been accompanied with amagazine pouch thus making it difficult to distinguish one fromthe other in documents. As a collector, I can say that fromobservation that style A belts, uncommon on their own, existin greater numbers than the style B displayed in this post.In brief, I would characterize this item as either very scarce,or (to use an oft' abused term) rare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share #7 Posted June 21, 2019 In a previous post, USMF forum member Dragoon, posted a photo(re-printed) that included his style B, M1910 Mounted cartridge belt.In this re-post of his photo, from the top down are:Cavalry cartridge belt, cal. .30, model of 1909Cartridge belt, cal. .30, model of 1910(M), a modified mounted style ACartridge belt, cal. .30, model of 1910 (Mounted), style B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share #8 Posted June 21, 2019 In final summery I am posting images of the Cartridge belt,cal. .30, model of 1914 (Mounted) for visual comparison.Aside from minor construction differences, the quick identifyingfeature of the early M1914s is rimmed eagle snaps versus therimless eagle snaps of my M1910. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share #9 Posted June 21, 2019 The WWI era produced M1914 mounted belts w/ lift-the-dot fastenersproduced by Mills and Russell exist in large numbers making themquite common. These are outside the intended discussion and should be left to a separate post. END POST Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Keith Posted June 21, 2019 Share #10 Posted June 21, 2019 Excellent post! Very informative, Thanks! BKW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbmilitaria Posted June 21, 2019 Share #11 Posted June 21, 2019 Great post. Fantastic photos and a very clear description of the different models of these early belts. Thank you for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheskett Posted June 22, 2019 Share #12 Posted June 22, 2019 This is an outstanding find and you are lucky to have it in your collection. Congratulations!!! I have a 1916 dated Model of 1914 Mounted belt, and if memory serves it has the snap to hold the .45 ammunition pouch in place where yours does not. This may be another difference between the two belts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pointedcuffs Posted June 22, 2019 Share #13 Posted June 22, 2019 Great addition to the collection and great informative post for the forum! Thank you for taking the time to educate us, well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragoon Posted June 24, 2019 Share #14 Posted June 24, 2019 Thanks again for another informative post, this time on such a scarce belt. I was unaware on exactly the numbers involved with regards to them being issued. As you will know from my post I have owned mine for quite a few years and do not recall seeing many others, perhaps one other but no doubt there are other survivors so if anyone has one it would be nice to see. Well done on finding such a rarity and in such good condition Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted August 6, 2019 Author Share #15 Posted August 6, 2019 UPDATE This belt would originally have been issued with a Magazine Pocket, Web, Double, so with a little searching I found an appropriate 1st pattern, 1913 dated specimen, with rimless eagle snaps and in similar condition with which to pair with this belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted August 6, 2019 Author Share #16 Posted August 6, 2019 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted August 6, 2019 Author Share #17 Posted August 6, 2019 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now