Hi Dave.....Thanks for going to the trouble of looking out the photos,..That IS a LONG belt on the "08" Eindecker..........Your explanation seems very plausible , and without any other evidence of directives becoming available in the future ,it is probably the best we'll ever get...ie.."Standardisation".......It is still a little odd , unless I'm missing something , that there was no need to apply tension to the used belt ,aft of the exit shoot ,(as in British and French machines with their spring loaded drums *) ,to prevent it "bunching up" in the collector box ,.This , being ahead of the live ammo' bix ,would be very difficult to reach ?..I guess that the German belts may have been a little stiffer , and could pass quite cleanly through the shoot....Maybe we'll never get to know without trying it perhaps ?
....Best Regards..John. (*...Not sure exactly if & when disintergrating links Actualy started being in general use on Brit,. & French A/C )