Distinguishing Pre and Post 1975 PAVN Belts

The DRV maintains the largest standing army in SE Asia. As such, there is a great need of material to equip the armed forces. An issue item for all personnel is the field belt.

As you may have read, the vast majority of NVA belts captured prior to 1975 were made in the PRC to the specifications of the NVA.  Over time, these belts wore out and had to be replaced for the million man army.

Brass buckles, made in the PRC in the 1950s and 1969s, which were worn on wartime leather or canvas belts do not degrade.   Old brass buckles were removed from the worn out leather or web and attached to newer canvas, web or cotton belts, en masse.

As a result of so many belts being remade and reissued for field use in the hot humid climate of Viet Nam,  many post 1975 reconditioned belts are sold as wartime NVA belts by the unknowing.   Many of these look like they were worn down the HCM Trail.   Do not let salty condition make you believe that a particular item is legitimate wartime.

To the left are some examples of these reconditioned post 1975 belts.  Take a look and notice the differences.

Here are some pointers:

Rubber belts with visible threads on the edges are post 1975;

Belts with two parallel rows of aluminum grommets are post 1975;

Belts with thick horizontal rows of soft cotton webbing are post 1975;

Belts with thin cotton, stitched haphazardly like the one here, are post 1975;

Belts made of folded over vinyl are post 1975.

Note the buckle on the rubberized belt with visible edge cord was made from stamped aluminum with a raised star.  This buckle is not seen on any wartime belts. Also the stamped brass belt with the raised star is not seen on wartime belts.

All of the belts here are post 1975 SRV made.  While they are perfectly fine for your post 1975 PAVN display, and may have been worn around the jungle, they do not fit in anyone’s wartime display.

Also, the Chinese PLA had Chinese characters for 8 and 1 in the star of their buckles.  The NVA & VC did not wear these. The wore belts and buckles made at the same factory as the PLA but new stamps were made for Hanoi that deleted the 8 1 characters.