Japanese Navy Paratrooper Named Ammunition Bandolier

Tan cotton canvas 17 compartment ammunition bandolier for a Japanese Navy paratrooper. The interior of the bandolier has the paratroopers service numbber of 4827. It is noted that he enlisted from Kure, and his name was Kumagaya Hiro’o. There is also the name of Notaka written on the bandolier, apparently in the same hand.
The bondolier has some worn spots, with several small stains, but it is intact and sound.

The Imperial Japanese Navy fielded naval paratroopers during World War II. The troops were officially part of the Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF or Rikusentai).[1] They came from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Yokosuka SNLFs, and their special equipment included these ammunition bandoliers. The design is quite unusual in that the bandolier does not have a buckle of clasp to open it. It is instead made as a completely circular belt, which could simply have been slung over the paratrooper’s body without any adjustments.