Khaki drill
Encyclopedia
Khaki drill or KD
KD
KD may refer to:* Kapal DiRaja, ship prefix used in the Royal Malaysian Navy* Kappa Delta, a National Panhellenic sorority* Katamari Damacy, a video game by Namco* Kawasaki disease* Kentucky Derby* Ketogenic diet...
was the term for a type of fabric and the British military uniform
Military uniform
Military uniforms comprises standardised dress worn by members of the armed forces and paramilitaries of various nations. Military dress and military styles have gone through great changes over the centuries from colourful and elaborate to extremely utilitarian...
s made from them. Khaki
Khaki
This article is about the fabric. For the color, see Khaki . Kaki, another name for the persimmon, is often misspelled "Khaki".Khaki is a type of fabric or the color of such fabric...
Drill was worn as a combat uniform from 1900 to 1949 but is a variant, still referred to a Khaki Drill or KD's is worn by the UK Armed Forces, in non combatatant warm weather countries where the british are activly serving e.g. personnel stationed at R.A.F. Akrotiri in Cyprus wear variants this uniform, of which ther are four working variants (long sleeve shirt, trousers, KD socks black, RAF Blue Grey belt 1 inch working with brass/ staybright buckle or R.A.F. Stable belt, shoes or KD ankle boots, RAF Blue Grey 1 inch working belt with brass/ staybright buckle or R.A.F. Stable belt and black tie, short sleeved shirt, trousers KD socks black shoes or KD ankle boots, short sleeved shirt, shorts, KD socks, RAF Blue Grey 1 inch working belt with brass/ staybright buckle or R.A.F. Stable belt and KD ankle boots or KD knee length dress with black female RAF shoes, formerly there was an airmans and WO/ Ocfficers bush jacket worn by male personnel) and four dress (Male Officer/ Warrant Officer, Female Officer/ Warrant Officer, Other Airman (FS and below/ Other Airwomen) (There are also slight variations in this uniform, specifically the full dress variant, between the three services) and was most often used in desert and tropical service. Generally KD was a series of different uniform patterns of light khaki cloth, generally cotton, first worn by British and British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
soldiers in the Boer War
Boer War
The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
. Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
developed its own pattern after the First World War, and the uniform was commonly worn in Canada, with officers again having the option of finer garments privately purchased. In the Second World War, Canadians serving in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
wore Canadian pattern KD; the I Canadian Corps
I Canadian Corps
I Canadian Corps was one of the two corps fielded by the Canadian Army during World War II. From December 24, 1940 until the formation of the First Canadian Army in April 1942, there was a single unnumbered Canadian Corps...
troops in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
wore KD supplied in theatre by the British, generally of British, Indian or US (War Aid) manufacture.
North Africa and the Mediterranean
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
and the Mediterranean theatre
Mediterranean Theatre of World War II
The African, Mediterranean and Middle East theatres encompassed the naval, land, and air campaigns fought between the Allied and Axis forces in the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and Africa...
, British troops wore khaki
Khaki
This article is about the fabric. For the color, see Khaki . Kaki, another name for the persimmon, is often misspelled "Khaki".Khaki is a type of fabric or the color of such fabric...
drill (KD
KD
KD may refer to:* Kapal DiRaja, ship prefix used in the Royal Malaysian Navy* Kappa Delta, a National Panhellenic sorority* Katamari Damacy, a video game by Namco* Kawasaki disease* Kentucky Derby* Ketogenic diet...
) shorts or slacks with long sleeved Aertex
Aertex
Aertex is a Manchester based British clothing company, and also the name of the original textile manufactured by that company.The company owns the trademark for Aertex fabric, a lightweight and loosely woven cotton material that is used to make shirts and underwear...
shirts. The tan color, paler shade of KD was more suited to desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
or semi-desert regions than the "dark khaki" or brown serge used in Battle dress
Battle Dress
Battle Dress was the specific title of a military uniform adopted by the British Army in the late 1930s and worn until the 1960s. Several other nations also introduced variants of Battle Dress during the Second World War, including Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa, and the...
. When the Allies moved up through Italy, however, two-piece khaki denim
Denim
Denim is a rugged cotton twill textile, in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This produces the familiar diagonal ribbing identifiable on the reverse of the fabric, which distinguishes denim from cotton duck. Denim has been in American usage since the late 18th century...
battledress
Battledress
Battledress, or fatigues in the general sense, is the type of uniform used as combat uniforms, as opposed to 'display' dress or formal uniform worn at parades and functions. It may be either monochrome or in a camouflage pattern...
overalls were increasingly preferred. By 1943, the KD shirt began to be replaced by a more durable cotton KD bush jacket.
Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
, the British found themselves at war with the Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
while equipped with the impractical KD uniform. Shirts and trousers had to be dyed green as a temporary expedient until more suitable jungle clothing became available. A new tropical uniform in Jungle Green (JG) was quickly developed – a JG Aertex
Aertex
Aertex is a Manchester based British clothing company, and also the name of the original textile manufactured by that company.The company owns the trademark for Aertex fabric, a lightweight and loosely woven cotton material that is used to make shirts and underwear...
battledress
Battledress
Battledress, or fatigues in the general sense, is the type of uniform used as combat uniforms, as opposed to 'display' dress or formal uniform worn at parades and functions. It may be either monochrome or in a camouflage pattern...
blouse, a JG Aertex bush jacket (as an alternative to the blouse) and battledress trousers in JG cotton drill. In the hot and humid conditions of Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, JG darkened with sweat almost immediately.
Post World War Two
Khaki
This article is about the fabric. For the color, see Khaki . Kaki, another name for the persimmon, is often misspelled "Khaki".Khaki is a type of fabric or the color of such fabric...
battledress
Battledress
Battledress, or fatigues in the general sense, is the type of uniform used as combat uniforms, as opposed to 'display' dress or formal uniform worn at parades and functions. It may be either monochrome or in a camouflage pattern...
was used until the late 1960s, and various uniform items in KD, JG and OG remained on issue to soldiers serving in the Mediterranean, Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
or tropics after the war. By the end of the 1940s, however, stocks were becoming depleted, and a new 1950-pattern tropical uniform was made available in both KD and JG. It was poorly designed, with an ill fitting bush jacket in the much-maligned Aertex, and suspender buckles that dug in to the hips when marching in full kit. Eventually the much more practical Gurkha
Gurkha
Gurkha are people from Nepal who take their name from the Gorkha District. Gurkhas are best known for their history in the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments, the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Nepalese Army. Gurkha units are closely associated with the kukri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife...
regiments’ JG shirt was copied, replacing the 1950-pattern bush jacket. All the same, troops still sought out the older, wartime, issues of the better KD, JG and OG kit.
External links
- www.canadiansoldiers.com: extensive discussion of Canadian Army uniforms, insignia, and traditions from 1900-2000
- Site which offers KD reproductions
- Canadian forces Military Police Museum site with lotsa pics