German Marschstiefel Rubber "hobnail" Sole 1941

This is a fairly typical cut of Jackboot, but what sets this well-worn pair apart from the rest is an early rubber dot pattern sole. Contrary to popular belief, the German armed forces did have rubber soled boots for various specialist purposes, but many of these are so specialized that it is difficult to know who exactly they were intended for. Some FJ boots for example had rubber soles, as did some tanker boots, as did some Kriegsmarine boots. This pair of boot will be one to puzzle over for quite some time, but I believe once you find that original photo, or bit of reference material that puts these in context, they will rewrite a bit of history for us detail nerds.  Could these be Kriegsmarine? Panzer? Or some specialist weapon crew like for the V1 crews responsible for setting the compass in a completely metal free environment? Someone handling fuel or explosives might have required boots that couldn't spark. Could this just have been a experiment to replace hobnails during this period of rapid expansion in the German army for the Russian campaign? Could they be some strange civilian thing or private purchase or alteration? You can puzzle till your puzzler is broken but somewhere there is an answer. No matter what these are a rare example of a German rubber sole jackboot from 1941, these might be the only example left.

The boots are well worn with a few nails driven into the rubber at some point to keep them together. The leather itself is in decent condition. The top edge of the boot is a little deformed. I do believe the rubber sole is original to this pair of boots and is not some post war add on. I have enough information to say that this is a 1930's rubber sole pattern and not a post war one. See the advertisement attached for a 1930's pair of civilian hiking boots with rubber soles. They are not the same but I have had other period examples and these fit the bill. I just wish they fit me. They are probably about a US size 9. The inside toe to heel measurement is about 9" ~ 9.25" Inside one boot at the top edge, I can just make out the numbers 28 4 41 102. This number is the size, width, year, and lot number. The "28" size seems to refer to the measurement of the insole in centimeters. So these were produced in 1941. The small illegible crest that is formed in the rubber sole, looks like other prewar boot sole markings I have seen.  The cardboard/paper that is inside one boot is actually identical to the cardboard material that was in an unissued pair of FJ boots I briefly owned.