Germany, Luftwaffe. A Pair of Tropical High Boots, c.1942

(Stiefel). A matching pair of Luftwaffe tropical knee-high books, constructed of field khaki canvas with reinforced brown leather, measuring approximately 42 cm from the heel to the top of the boot, the calves of the boots are constructed of woven, khaki canvas with a dual-ply brown leather reinforcement spine, the foot and interior ankle portions are constructed in four, brown leather panels with a large forward foot panel and a smaller interior ankle and two smaller heel panels, the boots have a vertical, front opening with seven parallel metal lace grommets, with the lowest positioned below a 24.57 cm tall overlapping canvas panel with an internal protective flap, one side of the overlapping panel has a long brown leather strap running through a grommet at the bottom of the flap to the top and meeting a metal buckle on the outer top edge of the boot, the reverse of the overlapping front opening panels have brown leather reinforcement strips to each side, the boots have stacked leather heels and forward soles, with some remaining steel hobnails in place, while the heels still have inset, steel horseshoe plates, the interior top edge of each boot is trimmed with a strip of reinforcing brown leather, boots are unmarked, in overall good condition with signs of moderate age and usage.

Footnote: Luftwaffe tropical high boots differ from the Army version with laces up to the ankle and a canvas flap-over designed up to the knee with a leather buckle strap at the top. See Robert Kurtz, Afrikakorps (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2004), 242.