Military camouflage
Encyclopedia
Military camouflage is one of many means of deceiving an enemy. In practice, it is the application of colour and materials to battledress
and military equipment to conceal them from visual observation. The French slang word camouflage
came into common English usage during World War I
when the concept of visual deception developed into an essential part of modern military tactics
. In that war, long-range artillery and observation by air combined to expand the field of fire, and camouflage was widely used to decrease the danger of being targeted.
Previously known as concealing coloration or deceptive concealment, military camouflage was first practised in the early 1800s by some military units in self-defence against the increased accuracy and rate of fire of guns. Before that, armies tended to wear bright colours and bold, impressive designs to daunt the enemy, foster unit cohesion
, allow easier identification of units in the fog of war
, attract recruits, and reduce desertion.
The intent of camouflage is to disrupt an outline by merging it with the surroundings, making a target harder to engage, or to confuse an observer as to its nature. Some modern camouflage, e.g. CADPAT
, addresses visibility in the near infrared as well as visible light, for concealment from night vision devices. Different countries have taken different paths towards the development of military camouflage.
to strengthen the British skirmish line. As they carried more accurate Baker Rifles
and engaged at a longer range, they were dressed in a rifle green jacket, in contrast to the Line regiments' scarlet tunics.
British forces during the mutiny of 1857
in India dyed their white drill uniforms to inconspicuous tones (following the practice started by the Corps of Guides
in 1846), called khaki (from the Hindi
-Urdu
word for "dusty"), by immersion in mud, tea, coffee or coloured inks. The resulting hue varied from dark or slate grey
through light brown
to off-white
, or sometimes even lavender. This improvised measure gradually became widespread among the troops stationed in India and North-West Frontier
, and sometimes among the troops campaigning on the African continent. Khaki-coloured uniform became standard service dress for both British
and British Indian Army
troops stationed in British India in 1885, and in 1896 khaki drill
uniform was adopted by British Army for the service outside of Europe in general, but not until the Second Boer War
, in 1902, did the entire British Army
standardise on khaki (officially known as "drab") for Service Dress
.
The Lovat Scouts
were formed from Scottish gamekeepers for service in the Boer war. They introduced the Ghillie suit
for concealment for sniping
in World War I.
, who had green-jacketed rifle units in the Civil War
, were quick to follow the British, going khaki in the same year. Russia
followed, partially, in 1908. The Italian Army
used grigio-verde ("grey-green") in the Alps from 1906 and across the army from 1909. The Germans
adopted feldgrau ("field grey") in 1910. Portugal, during the Peninsular War
, fielded light infantry known as Cacadores who wore brown-jackets which helped conceal them.
In Germany the traditional Prussian blue
uniforms were replaced with Feldgrau ("fieldgrey") in 1910. French uniforms in the early stage of the First World War consisted of bright red (garance) trousers and blue Greatcoats as part of the standard uniform. An attempt to introduce a camouflage uniform in France in 1911 faced strong opposition as the red trousers were seen as a symbol of the French military doctrine. A former Minister of War Eugène Étienne voiced typical opposition to camouflage: "Abolish red trousers? Never. France is red trousers." The red French kepi
hats were however soon covered with cloths and the experiences of the modern warfare soon led to the introduction of a new uniform.
and zoologist, Abbott Thayer published a book Concealing colouration in the Animal Kingdom, which was widely read by military leaders, though his advocacy of countershading (to hide shadows) was less successful.
Gestalt Psychology
influenced the development of camouflage as it dealt with questions such as "How is it that we see anything?". Contemporary artistic movements such as cubism
, vorticism
and impressionism
also influenced the development of camouflage as they dealt with disrupting outlines, abstraction and colour theory.
The French established a Section de Camouflage (Camouflage Department) at Amiens
in 1915, notably headed by Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scévola
. The experts, called camoufleurs, were mostly painters, sculptors and theatre-set artists. De Scévola began by building an observation tree, made of steel with bark camouflage, in May 1915; such trees became popular with the British and French armies in 1916. Painted canvas netting was introduced in 1917, and 7 million square yards were used by the end of the war.
Other countries soon saw the advantage of camouflage, and established their own units of artists, designers and architects:
Specialist troops, notably sniper
s, were supplied with hand-made camouflage, including patterned veils for the head and gun, hand-painted overalls and scrim-covered netting or sacking—an adaptation of the rag camouflage used in Scotland
by anti-poaching
wardens, gillies, the first ghillie suit
s, but non-specialist uniforms remained unpatterned throughout WWI. While camouflage has been used by hunters since prehistoric times, and ghillie suits are still worn by Scottish gamekeeper
s today, camouflage in a military context was considered effeminate and greeted with scorn until the late 19th century.
In 1931, the telo mimetico was copied and adopted by the German Army, which had begun using camouflaged cloth in 1918 with the indigenous Buntfarbenanstrich.
The Red Army
issued "amoeba" disruptive-pattern suits to snipers from 1937, and all-white ZMK top-garments in 1938.
With mass-production of patterned fabrics, camouflage uniforms became more common on individual soldiers in World War II
. Initially, patterning was uncommon and used only in elite units: for example, the 'Airborne Smock Denison Camouflage'
of 1942 was issued to British paratroops.
began, Finnish forces were already issued with snow camouflage, whereas this was not immediately made available to Soviet forces.
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The Germans experimented before the war and some army units used "Splittermuster
" ('Splinter pattern') camouflage. Waffen-SS
combat units experimented from 1935. The initial Waffen-SS camouflage, like many others, was designed by Prof. Johann Georg Otto Schick.
Sumpfmuster ('swamp pattern') was a Wehrmacht
camouflage first introduced in 1943, with a variation in 1944.
Apart from "Leibermuster", the official names of the wartime German camouflage patterns are not known: the names above are those used by military historians and collectors.
was issued widely from 1939. With the return of war, camouflage sections were revived. The British set up the Camouflage Development and Training Centre in 1940 at Farnham Castle
, Surrey
. Early staff included artists from the Industrial Camouflage Research Unit such as Roland Penrose
and Frederick Gore
, and the stage magician Jasper Maskelyne
(later known for camouflage work in the North African campaign
). The British did not use disruptive-pattern uniforms until 1942, with the hand-painted Denison smock
for paratrooper
s, followed in 1943 with a similar style M42 garment.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
began experiments in 1940. These led to the reversible "frog-skin/leopard spot" design, first as a reversible beach/jungle coverall in 1942, but soon changed to a two-part jacket and pants. It was first issued to the U.S. Marines
fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. In 1944, units of the 2nd Armored Division in Normandy
were issued with the "frog skin/leopard spot" camouflage, but similarity to the battledress worn by German Fallschirmjäger parachute troops led to friendly fire, and it was withdrawn. Full "leopard spot" uniforms continued to be worn by the USMC Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion
(whose role was reprised by the USMC Force Recon units from 1954) and by Combat Swimmer Reconnaissance Units
(later to evolve into the Navy's SEALs).
adopted brownish khaki-coloured uniforms for most troops. Snow-camouflage coveralls were widely issued in the winter. Specialized units often wore one or two-piece hooded camouflage suits, such as long-range scouts, snipers and assault engineers. Initially, one-piece 'amoeba' pattern coveralls were worn over the standard khaki shirt and pants. The most common colour schemes were a light ochre with dark brown blotches, and a light green with dark green blotches. Later, two-piece versions appeared in a variety of colours and patterns, some quite intricate. The sniper suits sometimes had ghillie-type attachments.
( Leopard pattern for the French or TAP47) is a military camouflage used by the French Army
on uniforms beginning in the 1950s up to the late 1980s.
A Lizard pattern has two overlapping prints, generally green and brown, printed with gaps so that a third dyed colour, such as a lighter green or khaki, makes up a large part of the pattern. In this, it is printed like earlier British patterns used on that country's paratroops' Denison smock
s, and descends from those patterns. Lizard patterns have narrower printed areas than the British patterns, and strong horizontal orientation, cutting across the vertical form of a body.
Other patterns descend in turn from Lizard patterns, either by imitation such as Cuba's Lizard pattern, or innovation, such as the tigerstripe patterns produced during the Vietnam War
.
in 1955 showed a camouflage similar to the pre-war Splittermuster
. These were replaced by a plain dark green in the early 1960s, which was in turn replaced by the modern Flecktarn
in 1990. It is the basis for Bundeswehr Wüstentarn
, a desert camouflage.
East Germany's forces (Nationale Volksarmee (NVA) and the Ministerium des Inneren (MdI)) used the Flächentarnmuster between 1958 until it was replaced 1965 by the Strichtarnmuster camouflage.
(1950–53), troops found the combat uniform inadequate: too hot in summer, and not warm enough in winter. Soldiers were at first issued Jungle Green (JG) uniforms for hot weather, and battledress in winter, but this had to be augmented with warm clothing, as well as caps with ear flaps and fur linings. A solution was pursued, and towards the end of the war a windproof and water-repellent gabardine
combat uniform was issued. The trousers followed the battledress design, while the bush jacket had pockets inside and out, closing with zips and buttons, a hip-length skirt with draw-strings to keep out the wind, and a similar arrangement at the waist. The uniform was produced in greyish green (OG), similar to the U.S. Army Olive Drab (OD).
With the end of National Service
in 1961, the Army looked for a new uniform: smarter than battledress, but also more comfortable, while still having a military air. Using Korean War clothing as a basis, new items were developed for the 1960-pattern Combat Dress, including the so-called Canadian pattern combat jacket, which was made with a lining above the waist and reinforced elbows. The 1960s was a transition for the Army, reflected in changes in uniform.
, was designed in 1960, called Disruptive Pattern (DP). The camouflage is more commonly known by the name given to the cloth printed with the pattern: Disruptive Pattern Material
(DPM). By the late sixties it was issued in limited quantities on 1960-pattern jackets and trousers, making Britain the first country to issue regular troops with a standard camouflaged combat uniform. Known as ‘66-Pattern, it was superseded by the ’68-Pattern, which had a slightly revised design on a new uniform, featuring minor changes over the preceding 1960/66-Pattern kit, most notably: a full lining for jacket and trousers. DPM became official army-wide issue only in 1972.
Various redesigns since 1984 changed the size of the pattern and the tone of the colours, but DPM is easily recognisable and remains effective. Many countries use it or a variation.
Many war surplus "leopard spot" uniforms were sold to allied nations reforming their armed forces. Worn by French parachutists in the First Indochina War
, the "leopard spot" was marketed to civilian hunters under the name "duck hunter".
The CIA supplied "leopard spot" or “duck hunter” camouflage for Brigade 2506
Cuban exile
s in the Bay of Pigs Invasion
and South Vietnamese and Montagnard Civilian Irregular Defense Group
(CIDG) counter-guerrillas until the pattern was replaced by the tigerstripe
pattern in the mid-1960s. [Blechman H & Newman A, 2004].
During the Vietnam War
, U.S. troops were issued a "boonie suit" in a single dull green for blending into the jungle. From the late 1950s the USMC had been issued with a variation on their World War II reversible helmet cover and shelter half. This had a tan and brown “brown clouds” side (printed with large identification numbers) and a green jungle side with a jagged “wine leaf” (a.k.a. “Mitchell”) pattern. Rangers
and Special Forces
units (aka Green Berets) adopted the Vietnamese "Tigerstripe" pattern with its distinctive horizontal slashes of black, green, and tan. Although this style became popular among the troops, it was not an official government issue uniform. It was procured by private purchase from civilian tailors. This is also called the "John Wayne
pattern" as the design was featured in Wayne's 1968 film The Green Berets
. Also in 1968, the brightly coloured division shoulder patches worn since World War II were gradually replaced with a "subdued" green and black version. Name tags and other insignia patches soon followed.
Another, four colour U.S. pattern, designed in 1948 by the Engineer Research & Development Laboratory
(ERDL) based at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, was later revisited for use in the Vietnam War
. Named ERDL Leaf pattern
, it was first issued to elite reconnaissance and special operations units in early 1967. It was initially produced in a lime dominant colourway, consisting of large organic shapes in mid green and brown, black ‘branches’, and light green ‘leaf highlights’. Shortly thereafter a brown dominant scheme (with the light green replaced by light tan) was manufactured. The two patterns are also known as ‘Lowland’ and ‘Highland’ ERDL respectively. The brown ‘Highland’ version was adopted as standard issue by the United States Marine Corps
(USMC) from 1968, and later introduced on a wide scale in Southeast Asia by the U.S. Army, so that by the end of the Vietnam War American troops wearing camouflage combat dress had become the norm. Following the withdrawal of the U.S. Army from the Southeast Asian Theatre in 1973, camouflage clothing was no longer routinely issued in that arm though the 1st Battalion 13th Infantry Regiment
in Baumholder, Germany wore the Lowland ERDL in the early 1970s as an experiment. The USMC continued wearing a transitional ‘Delta’ ERDL pattern that was issued in the mid-1970s. It was not until 1981 that the U.S. Quartermaster Dept. approved another camouflaged uniform with the fielding, from September (not officially introduced until 1 October, however), of the battle dress uniform
(BDU) in M81 Woodland pattern. Although based on the Vietnam era brown dominant ERDL Leaf camouflage, but enlarged (by 60%), and with the thicker black ‘shadows’ of the ‘Delta’ variant, the pattern was designed primarily for use in Europe. For the next two decades, this was the standard issue BDU for all arms of the U.S. military. Solid olive drab uniforms were rapidly phased out, such that by the time of Operation Urgent Fury in 1983, all participating units were clothed in M81 BDUs. The only exception was the Army Ranger Battalions who wore the olive drab uniforms until 1986.
The formation of the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) in 1979, with its remit to operate in the Middle East, and protect U.S. interests in the Persian Gulf
region, saw the issue of the first U.S. desert
camouflage clothing, a six colour Desert Battle Dress Uniform (DBDU), originally designed in 1962. With a base pattern of light tan overlaid with broad swathes of pale olive green and wide two-tone bands of brown, the clusters of white-on-black spots scattered over it earned it the nickname "chocolate chip" pattern. It was worn by U.S. troops taking part in the biennial Bright Star
exercises in Egypt
during the 1980s, and by FORSCOM
peacekeepers in the Egyptian Sinai, but the design contrasted too much with the terrain, and the six-colour pattern was expensive to manufacture, so the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center researched a substitute. Samples of sand and earth from the Middle East
were measured for optical and infrared reflectance, and seven trial patterns were evaluated. The resulting "Desert Camouflage Pattern: Combat" was standardized in 1990, but was not used in the Gulf War
of 1990-1991. Nicknamed the “Coffee Stain” pattern and officially issued with the new Desert Camouflage Uniform
(DCU) in 1993, it consisted of a subtle blend of large pastel green and light tan shapes, with sparsely placed, narrow, reddish brown patches.
Digital camouflage (or "digicam") uses small 'micropatterns', as opposed to traditional larger 'macropatterns' for effective disruption. The theory is that large blotches of colour with sharp outlines are easier to see, while "blurring" the edges of the coloured patches makes the outlines, and thus the objects, harder to discern. The name refers to the coordinates of the pattern, which are digitally defined, as well as the set of colours used.
From 1978 to the early 1980s, the American 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment stationed in Europe used a digital camouflage pattern, dual-tex, on its vehicles. During 1979 and 1980, the Australian Army
experimented with dual-tex on its helicopters.
Battledress in digital camouflage patterns was first designed by the Canadian Forces
. The pattern bears similarities to the Bundeswehr
's (Flecktarn
).
Digital camouflage patterns have been adopted by:
The South Korean Army around August 2006 adopted a digital camouflage pattern similar to the USMC's MARPAT for its Special Warfare Command units. The German
, Danish
, and Japanese military use camouflage that involves dots (flecktarn
) instead of pixelated patterns. Digital camouflage for personal clothing is being actively evaluated by e.g. Austria
, Poland
, and Spain
.
Digital camouflage in desert colours is used by Kuwaiti army
forces, replacing older patterns in 2007. Jordan
adopted a similar design in 2008.
The purpose of vehicle and equipment camouflage differs from personal camouflage in that the primary threat is aerial reconnaissance
. The goal is to disrupt the characteristic shape of the vehicle, to reduce shine, and to make the vehicle difficult to identify even if it is spotted.
Paint is the least effective measure, but forms a basis for other techniques. Military vehicles often become so dirty that pattern-painted camouflage is not visible, and although matt colours are used to reduce shine, a wet vehicle can still be very shiny, especially when viewed from above. Patterns are designed to make it more difficult to interpret shadows and shapes. The British Army adopted a disruptive scheme for their vehicles operating in the stony desert of the North African Campaign
and also Greece, retrospectively known as the "Caunter scheme". This used up to six colours applied with straight lines.
The British Army's Special Air Service
used pink as the primary colour on its desert
-camouflaged Land Rover Series IIA patrol vehicles, nicknamed Pink Panthers; the distinctly non-macho colour had been observed to be indistinguishable from sand, at a distance.
Nets can be effective at defeating visual observation. Traditional camouflage nets use a textile ‘garnish’ to generate an apparent texture with a depth of shadow created beneath it. Modern nets tend to be made of a continuous woven material, which is easier to deploy over a vehicle and doesn’t have “windows” between the patches of garnish of traditional nets. Nets are occasionally fixed in place around gun tubes or turrets, and if adequately attached can remain in place while the tank is moving. Nets are less effective in defeating radar and thermal sensors. Heavier, more durable mobile camouflage systems have been developed to bridge the technology gap between paint and nets. Essentially they are conformal duvets which can include materials with thermal and radar properties.
upperworks (with polished brass fittings) and white or black hulls. At the turn of the century the increasing range of naval engagements, as demonstrated by the Battle of Tsushima
, prompted the introduction of the first camouflage, in the form of some solid shade of gray overall, in the hope that ships would fade into the mist.
First and Second World War Dazzle camouflage
was used not to make ships disappear, but to make them seem smaller and/or faster, to encourage misidentification by an enemy and to make the ships harder to hit.
After the Second World War, the universal adoption of radar
made camouflage generally less effective. However, camouflage may have helped to protect United States warships from Vietnamese shore batteries using optical rangefinders.
The design of camouflage for aircraft is complicated by the fact that the appearance of the aircraft's background varies widely depending on the location of the observer (above or below) and the nature of the background. Many aircraft camouflage schemes of the past used countershading
, where a light colour was used underneath and darker colours above.
Other camouflage schemes acknowledge that the aircraft will be twisting and turning while in combat, and the camouflage pattern is applied to the entire aircraft.
The higher speeds of modern aircraft, and the reliance on radar and missiles in air combat have reduced the value of visual camouflage, while increasing the value of electronic "stealth
" measures. Modern paint is designed to absorb electromagnetic radiation used by radar
, reducing the signature of the aircraft, and to limit the emission of infrared light used by heat seeking missiles
to detect their target. Further advances in aircraft camouflage are being investigated in the field of active camouflage
.
Dazzle camouflage
also inspired a trend of dazzlesque patterns used on clothing in England. In 1919, Chelsea Arts Club held a "Dazzle Ball", those attending wore dazzle-patterned black and white clothing, influencing twentieth-century fashion and art via postcards (see illustration) and magazine articles. The Illustrated London News
announced
The earliest camouflage artists were members of the Post- Impressionist
and Fauve
schools of France. The camouflage experts were, for the most part, painters like Forain
, Camoin
, Villon
and Marcoussis
, sculptors like Boucher
and Despiau
, and theatre set artists .
Camouflage schemes of the First World War and Interwar periods that employed disruptive patterns were often described as "cubist" by commentators, and Picasso claimed with typical hyperbole Yes, it is we who made it, that is cubism
.
But most of the artists employed as camoufleurs were traditional representative painters, not cubists. De Scévola himself, however, did claim
While many artists helped to develop camouflage during and since World War I
, the disparate sympathies of the two cultures restrained the use of "militaristic" forms other than in the work of war artist
s. Since the 1960s, however, several notable artists have exploited the symbolism of camouflage, including:
In the United States in the 1960s, military clothing became increasingly common (mostly olive drab rather than patterned camouflage); interestingly, it was often found worn by anti-war protestors
, initially within groups such as Vietnam Veterans Against the War
but then increasingly widely as a symbol of political protest.
Fashion
often uses camouflage as inspiration - attracted by the striking designs, the "patterned disorder" of camouflage, its symbolism (to be celebrated or subverted [vide its use by Hello Kitty
]), and its versatility. Early designers include Marimekko
(1960s), Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
(1975-), Roland Chakal (1970), Stephen Sprouse
(using Warhol prints, 1987–1988), and Franco Moschino
(1986), but it was not until the 1990s that camouflage became a significant and widespread facet of dress from streetwear to high-fashion labels - especially the use of "faux-camouflage". Producers using camouflage in the 1990s and beyond include: John Galliano
for Christian Dior
, Marc Jacobs
for Louis Vuitton
, Comme des Garçons
, Chanel
, Tommy Hilfiger
, Dolce & Gabbana
, Issey Miyake
, Armani, Yves Saint-Laurent.
Companies closely associated with camouflage patterns include Maharishi, mhi, Zoo York
, Addict, 6876, A Bathing Ape
, Stone Island
, and Girbaud), using and overprinting genuine military surplus fabric; others use camouflage patterns in bright colours such as pink or purple. Some, such as Emma Lundgren, have created their own designs or integrated camouflage patterns with other symbols.
Some countries such as Barbados
, Aruba
, and other Caribbean
nations have strict laws that prohibit camouflage clothing from being worn by non-military personnel, including tourists and children.
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...
and military equipment to conceal them from visual observation. The French slang word camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
came into common English usage during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
when the concept of visual deception developed into an essential part of modern military tactics
Military tactics
Military tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
. In that war, long-range artillery and observation by air combined to expand the field of fire, and camouflage was widely used to decrease the danger of being targeted.
Previously known as concealing coloration or deceptive concealment, military camouflage was first practised in the early 1800s by some military units in self-defence against the increased accuracy and rate of fire of guns. Before that, armies tended to wear bright colours and bold, impressive designs to daunt the enemy, foster unit cohesion
Unit cohesion
Unit cohesion is a military concept, defined by one former United States Chief of staff in the early 1980s as "the bonding together of soldiers in such a way as to sustain their will and commitment to each other, the unit, and mission accomplishment, despite combat or mission stress"...
, allow easier identification of units in the fog of war
Fog of war
The fog of war is a term used to describe the uncertainty in situation awareness experienced by participants in military operations. The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding own capability, adversary capability, and adversary intent during an engagement, operation, or campaign...
, attract recruits, and reduce desertion.
The intent of camouflage is to disrupt an outline by merging it with the surroundings, making a target harder to engage, or to confuse an observer as to its nature. Some modern camouflage, e.g. CADPAT
CADPAT
Canadian Disruptive Pattern is the computer-generated digital camouflage pattern currently used by the Canadian Forces . CADPAT is designed to reduce the likelihood of detection by night vision devices. The basic uniform consists of a wide brim combat hat, helmet cover, shirt, jacket, trousers,...
, addresses visibility in the near infrared as well as visible light, for concealment from night vision devices. Different countries have taken different paths towards the development of military camouflage.
United Kingdom
The first regular units to adopt camouflage colours were the 95th Rifle Regiment and the 60th Rifle Regiment, created during the Napoleonic WarsNapoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
to strengthen the British skirmish line. As they carried more accurate Baker Rifles
Baker rifle
The Baker rifle was a flintlock rifle used by the Rifle regiments of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. It was the first standard-issue, British-made rifle accepted by the British armed forces....
and engaged at a longer range, they were dressed in a rifle green jacket, in contrast to the Line regiments' scarlet tunics.
British forces during the mutiny of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
in India dyed their white drill uniforms to inconspicuous tones (following the practice started by the Corps of Guides
Corps of Guides (British India)
The Corps of Guides was a regiment of the British Indian Army which served in the North West Frontier and had a unique composition of being part infantry and part cavalry.-History:...
in 1846), called khaki (from the Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
-Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
word for "dusty"), by immersion in mud, tea, coffee or coloured inks. The resulting hue varied from dark or slate grey
Grey
Grey or gray is an achromatic or neutral color.Complementary colors are defined to mix to grey, either additively or subtractively, and many color models place complements opposite each other in a color wheel. To produce grey in RGB displays, the R, G, and B primary light sources are combined in...
through light brown
Brown
Brown is a color term, denoting a range of composite colors produced by a mixture of orange, red, rose, or yellow with black or gray. The term is from Old English brún, in origin for any dusky or dark shade of color....
to off-white
Off-white
Shades of white are colors that differ only slightly from pure white. Variations of white include what are commonly termed off-white colors, which may be considered part of a neutral color scheme, pervasively paired with beiges in the 1930s, and especially popular again from roughly 1955 to 1975...
, or sometimes even lavender. This improvised measure gradually became widespread among the troops stationed in India and North-West Frontier
North-West Frontier (military history)
The North-West Frontier was the most difficult area, from a military point of view, of the former British India in the Indian sub-continent. It remains the frontier of present-day Pakistan, extending from the Pamir Knot in the north to the Koh-i-Malik Siah in the west, and separating the...
, and sometimes among the troops campaigning on the African continent. Khaki-coloured uniform became standard service dress for both British
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
troops stationed in British India in 1885, and in 1896 khaki drill
Khaki drill
Khaki drill or KD was the term for a type of fabric and the British military uniforms made from them. Khaki 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...
uniform was adopted by British Army for the service outside of Europe in general, but not until the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, in 1902, did the entire British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
standardise on khaki (officially known as "drab") for Service Dress
Service Dress (British Army)
Service Dress was the new style of khaki uniform introduced by the British Army for use in the field from the early 1900s, following the experiences of a number of imperial wars and conflicts, including the Second Boer War. This variant of uniform continues to be worn today, although only in a...
.
The Lovat Scouts
Lovat Scouts
The Lovat Scouts were a British Army unit. The unit was first formed during the Second Boer War as a Scottish Highland yeomanry regiment of the British Army and is the first known military unit to wear a ghillie suit...
were formed from Scottish gamekeepers for service in the Boer war. They introduced the Ghillie suit
Ghillie suit
A ghillie suit, wookie suit, yowie suit, or camo tent is a type of camouflage clothing designed to resemble heavy foliage. Typically, it is a net or cloth garment covered in loose strips of cloth or twine, sometimes made to look like leaves and twigs, and optionally augmented with scraps of foliage...
for concealment for sniping
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
in World War I.
Other nations
The United StatesMilitary of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
, who had green-jacketed rifle units in the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, were quick to follow the British, going khaki in the same year. Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
followed, partially, in 1908. The Italian Army
Italian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
used grigio-verde ("grey-green") in the Alps from 1906 and across the army from 1909. The Germans
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
adopted feldgrau ("field grey") in 1910. Portugal, during the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
, fielded light infantry known as Cacadores who wore brown-jackets which helped conceal them.
World War I
In Germany the traditional Prussian blue
Prussian blue
Prussian blue is a dark blue pigment with the idealized formula Fe718. Another name for the color Prussian blue is Berlin blue or, in painting, Parisian blue. Turnbull's blue is the same substance but is made from different reagents....
uniforms were replaced with Feldgrau ("fieldgrey") in 1910. French uniforms in the early stage of the First World War consisted of bright red (garance) trousers and blue Greatcoats as part of the standard uniform. An attempt to introduce a camouflage uniform in France in 1911 faced strong opposition as the red trousers were seen as a symbol of the French military doctrine. A former Minister of War Eugène Étienne voiced typical opposition to camouflage: "Abolish red trousers? Never. France is red trousers." The red French kepi
Kepi
The kepi is a cap with a flat circular top and a visor or peak . Etymologically, the word is a borrowing of the French képi, itself a respelling of the Alemannic Käppi: a diminutive form of Kappe, meaning "cap"....
hats were however soon covered with cloths and the experiences of the modern warfare soon led to the introduction of a new uniform.
Role of artists
An American artistArtist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and zoologist, Abbott Thayer published a book Concealing colouration in the Animal Kingdom, which was widely read by military leaders, though his advocacy of countershading (to hide shadows) was less successful.
Gestalt Psychology
Gestalt psychology
Gestalt psychology or gestaltism is a theory of mind and brain of the Berlin School; the operational principle of gestalt psychology is that the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self-organizing tendencies...
influenced the development of camouflage as it dealt with questions such as "How is it that we see anything?". Contemporary artistic movements such as cubism
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
, vorticism
Vorticism
Vorticism, an offshoot of Cubism, was a short-lived modernist movement in British art and poetry of the early 20th century. It was based in London but international in make-up and ambition.-Origins:...
and impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
also influenced the development of camouflage as they dealt with disrupting outlines, abstraction and colour theory.
The French established a Section de Camouflage (Camouflage Department) at Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
in 1915, notably headed by Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scévola
Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scévola
Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scévola was a French painter.- Biography :He was a student of Fernand Cormon at the École des beaux-arts de Paris....
. The experts, called camoufleurs, were mostly painters, sculptors and theatre-set artists. De Scévola began by building an observation tree, made of steel with bark camouflage, in May 1915; such trees became popular with the British and French armies in 1916. Painted canvas netting was introduced in 1917, and 7 million square yards were used by the end of the war.
Other countries soon saw the advantage of camouflage, and established their own units of artists, designers and architects:
- the British Camouflage Section in late 1916 at Wimereux,
- the U.S.
- New York Camouflage Society, April 1917;
- official Company A, 40th Engineers, January 1918;
- the Women's Reserve Camouflage Corps;
- Germany, from 1917: for example, lozenge camouflageLozenge camouflageLozenge camouflage was a military camouflage scheme in the form of patterned cloth or painted designs used by some aircraft of the Central Powers in the last two years of . It takes its name from the repeated polygon shapes incorporated in the designs, many of which resembled lozenges...
covering Central Powers aircraft, possibly the earliest printed camouflage; - Italy, Laboratorio di mascheramento, 1917.
Specialist troops, notably sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
s, were supplied with hand-made camouflage, including patterned veils for the head and gun, hand-painted overalls and scrim-covered netting or sacking—an adaptation of the rag camouflage used in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
by anti-poaching
Poaching
Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...
wardens, gillies, the first ghillie suit
Ghillie suit
A ghillie suit, wookie suit, yowie suit, or camo tent is a type of camouflage clothing designed to resemble heavy foliage. Typically, it is a net or cloth garment covered in loose strips of cloth or twine, sometimes made to look like leaves and twigs, and optionally augmented with scraps of foliage...
s, but non-specialist uniforms remained unpatterned throughout WWI. While camouflage has been used by hunters since prehistoric times, and ghillie suits are still worn by Scottish gamekeeper
Gamekeeper
A gamekeeper is a person who manages an area of countryside to make sure there is enough game for shooting, or fish for angling, and who actively manages areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland for the benefit of game birds, deer, fish and wildlife in general.Typically, a gamekeeper is...
s today, camouflage in a military context was considered effeminate and greeted with scorn until the late 19th century.
Interwar period
An Italian mass-produced military camouflage was the telo mimetico ("mimetic cloth") pattern of 1929, used to cover a shelter-half (telo tenda).In 1931, the telo mimetico was copied and adopted by the German Army, which had begun using camouflaged cloth in 1918 with the indigenous Buntfarbenanstrich.
The Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
issued "amoeba" disruptive-pattern suits to snipers from 1937, and all-white ZMK top-garments in 1938.
World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Initially, patterning was uncommon and used only in elite units: for example, the 'Airborne Smock Denison Camouflage'
Denison smock
The Denison smock was a coverall jacket issued to Special Operations Executive agents, the Parachute Regiment, the Glider Pilot Regiment, Air Landing Regiments, and other Commonwealth airborne units, to wear over their Battle Dress uniform during the Second World War.The smock was initially worn...
of 1942 was issued to British paratroops.
Finland
Finland has used snowsuits as winter camouflage for soldiers since its independence. At first, snow-camouflage suits were simple white overalls and they were easy and cheap to produce. When the Winter WarWinter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
began, Finnish forces were already issued with snow camouflage, whereas this was not immediately made available to Soviet forces.
Germany
Splittermuster
Splittermuster was a four-colour military camouflage pattern developed by Germany in the late 1920's, and was first issued to the Reichswehr in 1931. It was first printed on the newly designed and issued triangular tent/poncho called the dreieckszeltbahn...
" ('Splinter pattern') camouflage. Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
combat units experimented from 1935. The initial Waffen-SS camouflage, like many others, was designed by Prof. Johann Georg Otto Schick.
- Platanenmuster ('plane-tree pattern') (1937–1942): spring/summer and autumn/winter variations
- Rauchtarnmuster ('blurred edge pattern') (1939–1944): spring/summer and autumn/winter variations
- Palmenmuster ('palm pattern') (ca. 1941): summer/autumn variations
- Beringtes Eichenlaubmuster ('ringed oak leaf pattern') (1942 bis 1945)
- Eichenlaubmuster ('oak leaf pattern') (1943–1945): spring/summer and autumn/winter variations
- Erbsenmuster ('pea pattern') (1944–1945): spring/summer and autumn/winter variations
- LeibermusterLeibermusterLeibermuster was a six-color military camouflage pattern developed by the Third Reich in February 1945. Known in German as "Buntfarbenaufdruck 45" for its year of introduction, Leibermuster was issued on a very limited basis to combat units before the war ended. It was the first pattern issued...
('Leiber's pattern') (1945) - telo mimetico ('mimetic cloth'), using fabric seized from the Italians in 1943 (the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler often wore this pattern).
Sumpfmuster ('swamp pattern') was a Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
camouflage first introduced in 1943, with a variation in 1944.
Apart from "Leibermuster", the official names of the wartime German camouflage patterns are not known: the names above are those used by military historians and collectors.
United Kingdom
Developed in the 1930s, khaki Battle DressBattle 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...
was issued widely from 1939. With the return of war, camouflage sections were revived. The British set up the Camouflage Development and Training Centre in 1940 at Farnham Castle
Farnham Castle
Farnham Castle is a castle in Farnham, Surrey, England .First built in 1138 by Henri de Blois, grandson of William the Conqueror, Bishop of Winchester, the castle was to become the home of the Bishops of Winchester for over 800 years. The original building was demolished by Henry II in 1155 after...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. Early staff included artists from the Industrial Camouflage Research Unit such as Roland Penrose
Roland Penrose
Sir Roland Algernon Penrose CBE was an English artist, historian and poet. He was a major promoter and collector of modern art and an associate of the surrealists in the United Kingdom.- Biography :...
and Frederick Gore
Frederick Gore
Frederick John Pym Gore CBE RA , was a British painter. -Biography:Gore was born into the world of art; his mother, Mary Joanna Kerr, was a dancer from Edinburgh, and his father, Spencer Frederick Gore, a painter, President of the Camden Town Group until his early death in March 1914.As a young...
, and the stage magician Jasper Maskelyne
Jasper Maskelyne
Jasper Maskelyne was a British stage magician in the 1930s and 1940s. He was one of an established family of stage magicians, the son of Nevil Maskelyne and a grandson of John Nevil Maskelyne. He could also trace his ancestry to the royal astronomer Nevil Maskelyne...
(later known for camouflage work in the North African campaign
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...
). The British did not use disruptive-pattern uniforms until 1942, with the hand-painted Denison smock
Denison smock
The Denison smock was a coverall jacket issued to Special Operations Executive agents, the Parachute Regiment, the Glider Pilot Regiment, Air Landing Regiments, and other Commonwealth airborne units, to wear over their Battle Dress uniform during the Second World War.The smock was initially worn...
for paratrooper
Paratrooper
Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
s, followed in 1943 with a similar style M42 garment.
United States
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
began experiments in 1940. These led to the reversible "frog-skin/leopard spot" design, first as a reversible beach/jungle coverall in 1942, but soon changed to a two-part jacket and pants. It was first issued to the U.S. Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. In 1944, units of the 2nd Armored Division in Normandy
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
were issued with the "frog skin/leopard spot" camouflage, but similarity to the battledress worn by German Fallschirmjäger parachute troops led to friendly fire, and it was withdrawn. Full "leopard spot" uniforms continued to be worn by the USMC Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion
United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance
The Force Reconnaissance Companies , are one of the United States Marine Corps's special operations "capable" forces that provide essential elements of military intelligence to the command element of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force ; supporting the landing or joint task force commanders, and...
(whose role was reprised by the USMC Force Recon units from 1954) and by Combat Swimmer Reconnaissance Units
United States Navy SEALs
The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...
(later to evolve into the Navy's SEALs).
USSR
The Red ArmyRed Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
adopted brownish khaki-coloured uniforms for most troops. Snow-camouflage coveralls were widely issued in the winter. Specialized units often wore one or two-piece hooded camouflage suits, such as long-range scouts, snipers and assault engineers. Initially, one-piece 'amoeba' pattern coveralls were worn over the standard khaki shirt and pants. The most common colour schemes were a light ochre with dark brown blotches, and a light green with dark green blotches. Later, two-piece versions appeared in a variety of colours and patterns, some quite intricate. The sniper suits sometimes had ghillie-type attachments.
France
Lizard patternLizard (camouflage)
The Lizard pattern is a kind of military camouflage pattern used by the French Army on uniforms beginning in the 1950s up to the late 1980s.-The Lizard pattern and its descendants:...
( Leopard pattern for the French or TAP47) is a military camouflage used by the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
on uniforms beginning in the 1950s up to the late 1980s.
A Lizard pattern has two overlapping prints, generally green and brown, printed with gaps so that a third dyed colour, such as a lighter green or khaki, makes up a large part of the pattern. In this, it is printed like earlier British patterns used on that country's paratroops' Denison smock
Denison smock
The Denison smock was a coverall jacket issued to Special Operations Executive agents, the Parachute Regiment, the Glider Pilot Regiment, Air Landing Regiments, and other Commonwealth airborne units, to wear over their Battle Dress uniform during the Second World War.The smock was initially worn...
s, and descends from those patterns. Lizard patterns have narrower printed areas than the British patterns, and strong horizontal orientation, cutting across the vertical form of a body.
Other patterns descend in turn from Lizard patterns, either by imitation such as Cuba's Lizard pattern, or innovation, such as the tigerstripe patterns produced during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Germany
The first uniforms of the BundeswehrBundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
in 1955 showed a camouflage similar to the pre-war Splittermuster
Splittermuster
Splittermuster was a four-colour military camouflage pattern developed by Germany in the late 1920's, and was first issued to the Reichswehr in 1931. It was first printed on the newly designed and issued triangular tent/poncho called the dreieckszeltbahn...
. These were replaced by a plain dark green in the early 1960s, which was in turn replaced by the modern Flecktarn
Flecktarn
Flecktarn is a 3-, 4-, 5- or 6-colour disruptive camouflage pattern. The use of spots creates a "dithering" effect, which eliminates hard boundaries between the different colours in much the same way the squares in the newest digital camouflage patterns do...
in 1990. It is the basis for Bundeswehr Wüstentarn
Bundeswehr Wüstentarn
Bundeswehr Wüstentarn is a desert camouflage used by the Bundeswehr . It is the desert variant of Flecktarn and is also known as Tropentarn, desert flecktarn, and fleck desert. Instead of the 5-color scheme of greens, brown, and black of temperate Flecktarn, it utilizes only three colors: a base...
, a desert camouflage.
East Germany's forces (Nationale Volksarmee (NVA) and the Ministerium des Inneren (MdI)) used the Flächentarnmuster between 1958 until it was replaced 1965 by the Strichtarnmuster camouflage.
United Kingdom
Battledress continued until the late 1950s. In the Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
(1950–53), troops found the combat uniform inadequate: too hot in summer, and not warm enough in winter. Soldiers were at first issued Jungle Green (JG) uniforms for hot weather, and battledress in winter, but this had to be augmented with warm clothing, as well as caps with ear flaps and fur linings. A solution was pursued, and towards the end of the war a windproof and water-repellent gabardine
Gabardine
Gabardine is a tough, tightly woven fabric used to make suits, overcoats, trousers, uniforms, windbreakers, and other garments. The fibre used to make the fabric is traditionally worsted wool, but may also be cotton, texturized polyester, or a blend. Gabardine is woven as a warp-faced steep or...
combat uniform was issued. The trousers followed the battledress design, while the bush jacket had pockets inside and out, closing with zips and buttons, a hip-length skirt with draw-strings to keep out the wind, and a similar arrangement at the waist. The uniform was produced in greyish green (OG), similar to the U.S. Army Olive Drab (OD).
With the end of National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in 1961, the Army looked for a new uniform: smarter than battledress, but also more comfortable, while still having a military air. Using Korean War clothing as a basis, new items were developed for the 1960-pattern Combat Dress, including the so-called Canadian pattern combat jacket, which was made with a lining above the waist and reinforced elbows. The 1960s was a transition for the Army, reflected in changes in uniform.
Disruptive Pattern
The new, smaller, all-volunteer Army could now afford to equip every soldier with his own camouflaged uniform, and a pattern, based on the brushstroke of the Denison SmockDenison smock
The Denison smock was a coverall jacket issued to Special Operations Executive agents, the Parachute Regiment, the Glider Pilot Regiment, Air Landing Regiments, and other Commonwealth airborne units, to wear over their Battle Dress uniform during the Second World War.The smock was initially worn...
, was designed in 1960, called Disruptive Pattern (DP). The camouflage is more commonly known by the name given to the cloth printed with the pattern: Disruptive Pattern Material
Disruptive Pattern Material
Disruptive Pattern Material is the commonly used name of a camouflage pattern used by British forces as well many other armies worldwide, particularly in former British colonies....
(DPM). By the late sixties it was issued in limited quantities on 1960-pattern jackets and trousers, making Britain the first country to issue regular troops with a standard camouflaged combat uniform. Known as ‘66-Pattern, it was superseded by the ’68-Pattern, which had a slightly revised design on a new uniform, featuring minor changes over the preceding 1960/66-Pattern kit, most notably: a full lining for jacket and trousers. DPM became official army-wide issue only in 1972.
Various redesigns since 1984 changed the size of the pattern and the tone of the colours, but DPM is easily recognisable and remains effective. Many countries use it or a variation.
United States
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
, the "leopard spot" was marketed to civilian hunters under the name "duck hunter".
The CIA supplied "leopard spot" or “duck hunter” camouflage for Brigade 2506
Brigade 2506
Brigade 2506 was the name given to a CIA-sponsored group of Cuban exiles formed in 1960 to attempt the military overthrow of the Cuban government headed by Fidel Castro...
Cuban exile
Cuban exile
The term "Cuban exile" refers to the many Cubans who have sought alternative political or economic conditions outside the island, dating back to the Ten Years' War and the struggle for Cuban independence during the 19th century...
s in the Bay of Pigs Invasion
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The invasion was launched in April 1961, less than three months...
and South Vietnamese and Montagnard Civilian Irregular Defense Group
Civilian Irregular Defense Group
Civilian Irregular Defense Group program was a program developed by the U.S. government in the Vietnam War to develop South Vietnamese irregular military units from minority populations.-Purpose:...
(CIDG) counter-guerrillas until the pattern was replaced by the tigerstripe
Tigerstripe
Tigerstripe is the name of a group of camouflage patterns developed for close-range use in dense jungle during jungle warfare by the South Vietnamese Armed Forces/US Forces. It derives its name from its resemblance to a tiger's stripes...
pattern in the mid-1960s. [Blechman H & Newman A, 2004].
During the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, U.S. troops were issued a "boonie suit" in a single dull green for blending into the jungle. From the late 1950s the USMC had been issued with a variation on their World War II reversible helmet cover and shelter half. This had a tan and brown “brown clouds” side (printed with large identification numbers) and a green jungle side with a jagged “wine leaf” (a.k.a. “Mitchell”) pattern. Rangers
United States Army Rangers
United States Army Rangers are elite members of the United States Army. Rangers have served in recognized U.S. Army Ranger units or have graduated from the U.S. Army's Ranger School...
and Special Forces
United States Army Special Forces
The United States Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets because of their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force tasked with six primary missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, hostage rescue, and...
units (aka Green Berets) adopted the Vietnamese "Tigerstripe" pattern with its distinctive horizontal slashes of black, green, and tan. Although this style became popular among the troops, it was not an official government issue uniform. It was procured by private purchase from civilian tailors. This is also called the "John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
pattern" as the design was featured in Wayne's 1968 film The Green Berets
The Green Berets (film)
The Green Berets is a 1968 war film featuring John Wayne, George Takei, David Janssen, Jim Hutton and Aldo Ray, nominally based on the eponymous 1965 book by Robin Moore, though the screenplay has little relation to the book....
. Also in 1968, the brightly coloured division shoulder patches worn since World War II were gradually replaced with a "subdued" green and black version. Name tags and other insignia patches soon followed.
U.S. Woodland pattern
Another, four colour U.S. pattern, designed in 1948 by the Engineer Research & Development Laboratory
United States Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory
The United States Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory was a United States Army Corps of Engineers research facility located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Among other things, it was responsible for the creation of the ERDL woodland camouflage pattern in 1948 and it established the first U.S...
(ERDL) based at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, was later revisited for use in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Named ERDL Leaf pattern
ERDL pattern
ERDL pattern is a camouflage pattern developed by the United States Army at its Engineer Research & Development Laboratories in 1948. It was not issued to elite reconnaissance and special operations units until early 1967, during the Vietnam War....
, it was first issued to elite reconnaissance and special operations units in early 1967. It was initially produced in a lime dominant colourway, consisting of large organic shapes in mid green and brown, black ‘branches’, and light green ‘leaf highlights’. Shortly thereafter a brown dominant scheme (with the light green replaced by light tan) was manufactured. The two patterns are also known as ‘Lowland’ and ‘Highland’ ERDL respectively. The brown ‘Highland’ version was adopted as standard issue by the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
(USMC) from 1968, and later introduced on a wide scale in Southeast Asia by the U.S. Army, so that by the end of the Vietnam War American troops wearing camouflage combat dress had become the norm. Following the withdrawal of the U.S. Army from the Southeast Asian Theatre in 1973, camouflage clothing was no longer routinely issued in that arm though the 1st Battalion 13th Infantry Regiment
13th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 13th Infantry Regiment is a United States Army infantry regiment whose battalions are currently tasked as basic training battalions.- History :...
in Baumholder, Germany wore the Lowland ERDL in the early 1970s as an experiment. The USMC continued wearing a transitional ‘Delta’ ERDL pattern that was issued in the mid-1970s. It was not until 1981 that the U.S. Quartermaster Dept. approved another camouflaged uniform with the fielding, from September (not officially introduced until 1 October, however), of the battle dress uniform
Battle Dress Uniform
The Battle Dress Uniform were the fatigues that the armed forces of the United States used as their standard uniform for combat situations from September 1981 to April 2005. Since then, it has been replaced in every branch of the U.S. military. Only the U.S. Navy currently authorizes wear of the...
(BDU) in M81 Woodland pattern. Although based on the Vietnam era brown dominant ERDL Leaf camouflage, but enlarged (by 60%), and with the thicker black ‘shadows’ of the ‘Delta’ variant, the pattern was designed primarily for use in Europe. For the next two decades, this was the standard issue BDU for all arms of the U.S. military. Solid olive drab uniforms were rapidly phased out, such that by the time of Operation Urgent Fury in 1983, all participating units were clothed in M81 BDUs. The only exception was the Army Ranger Battalions who wore the olive drab uniforms until 1986.
U.S. Desert pattern
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
region, saw the issue of the first U.S. 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...
camouflage clothing, a six colour Desert Battle Dress Uniform (DBDU), originally designed in 1962. With a base pattern of light tan overlaid with broad swathes of pale olive green and wide two-tone bands of brown, the clusters of white-on-black spots scattered over it earned it the nickname "chocolate chip" pattern. It was worn by U.S. troops taking part in the biennial Bright Star
Operation Bright Star
Operation Bright Star is a series of biennial combined and joint training exercises led by American and Egyptian forces in Egypt. These exercises began in 1980. They are designed to strengthen ties between the Egyptian and American militaries and demonstrate and enhance the ability of the Americans...
exercises in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
during the 1980s, and by FORSCOM
United States Army Forces Command
United States Army Forces Command is the largest Army Command and the preeminent provider of expeditionary, campaign-capable land forces to Combatant Commanders. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, FORSCOM consists of more than 750,000 Active Army, U.S. Army Reserve, and Army National...
peacekeepers in the Egyptian Sinai, but the design contrasted too much with the terrain, and the six-colour pattern was expensive to manufacture, so the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center researched a substitute. Samples of sand and earth from the 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...
were measured for optical and infrared reflectance, and seven trial patterns were evaluated. The resulting "Desert Camouflage Pattern: Combat" was standardized in 1990, but was not used in the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
of 1990-1991. Nicknamed the “Coffee Stain” pattern and officially issued with the new Desert Camouflage Uniform
Desert Camouflage Uniform
The Desert Camouflage Uniform is essentially the same as the United States military's Battle Dress Uniform uniform, only featuring the three-color desert camouflage pattern of light tan, pale green, and brown, as opposed to the dark green, black, brown, and dark tan of the BDU's woodland pattern...
(DCU) in 1993, it consisted of a subtle blend of large pastel green and light tan shapes, with sparsely placed, narrow, reddish brown patches.
Digital patterns
From 1978 to the early 1980s, the American 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment stationed in Europe used a digital camouflage pattern, dual-tex, on its vehicles. During 1979 and 1980, the Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
experimented with dual-tex on its helicopters.
Battledress in digital camouflage patterns was first designed by the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
. The pattern bears similarities to the Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
's (Flecktarn
Flecktarn
Flecktarn is a 3-, 4-, 5- or 6-colour disruptive camouflage pattern. The use of spots creates a "dithering" effect, which eliminates hard boundaries between the different colours in much the same way the squares in the newest digital camouflage patterns do...
).
Digital camouflage patterns have been adopted by:
- United States Marine CorpsUnited States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
(MARPATMARPATMARPAT is a digital camouflage pattern in use with the United States Marine Corps, introduced with the Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform , which replaced the Camouflage Utility Uniform. The pattern is formed by a number of small rectangular pixels of color...
) - Jordanian Armed ForcesJordanian Armed ForcesThe Jordanian Armed Forces , also referred to as The Arab Army , with all of it branches, is under direct control of the King of Jordan...
(KA2 series) - United States ArmyUnited States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
(Universal Camouflage PatternUniversal Camouflage PatternThe Universal Camouflage Pattern , also referred to as ACUPAT or Digital Camouflage is the military camouflage pattern currently in use in the United States Army's Army Combat Uniform. The pattern was chosen after several laboratory and field tests that occurred from 2003 to 2004...
) - United States Air ForceUnited States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
(Airman Battle UniformAirman Battle UniformThe Airman Battle Uniform is a service-distinctive camouflage battledress uniform for the United States Air Force. It is currently in full production and replaced the Battle Dress Uniform November 1st, 2011 after a four year phase-in period...
) - Philippine National PolicePhilippine National PoliceThe Philippine National Police is the national police force of the Republic of the Philippines. It is both a national and a local police force in that it does provides all law enforcement services throughout the Philippines...
Special Action ForceSpecial Action ForceThe Special Action Force is the National Mobile Unit of the Philippine National Police. It is formed along the lines of the British Army Special Air Service, but with different recruitment and selection procedures... - Philippine Marine CorpsPhilippine Marine CorpsThe Philippine Marine Corps is the marine corps of the Philippines, and is part of the Philippine Navy.- History :...
- Philippine ArmyPhilippine ArmyThe Philippine Army is the ground arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines . Its official name in Tagalog is Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas. On July 23, 2010, President Benigno Aquino III appointed Maj. Gen...
- National Army of Colombia (Patriota)
- Ecuadorian ArmyEcuadorian ArmyThe Ecuadorian Army is the land component of the Ecuadorian Armed Forces. Its 24,135 soldiers are sensibly deployed in relation to its military doctrine...
- Peruvian ArmyPeruvian ArmyThe Peruvian Army is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with safeguarding the independence, sovereignty and integrity of national territory on land through military force. Additional missions include assistance in safeguarding internal security, conducting disaster relief operations...
(PACIPAT) - Guatemalan Army Special Operations Brigade
- Italian ArmyItalian ArmyThe Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
(Vegetato) - Estonian Defence Forces (ESTDCUESTDCUThe ESTDCU is the Estonian version of the digital camouflage uniform. The first set of test-uniforms were taken in use around 2005, and are slowly replacing the old pattern in service use.-Pattern development:...
) - Iraqi National Police
- Croatian Army
- Military of Latvia (NBS2006)
- Finnish Defence ForcesFinnish Defence ForcesThe Finnish Defence Forces are responsible for the defence of Finland. It is a cadre army of 15,000, of which 8,900 are professional soldiers , extended with conscripts and reservists such that the standard readiness strength is 34,700 people in uniform...
(M05) - China Armed Police Force (Type 05)
- Chinese People's Liberation ArmyPeople's Liberation ArmyThe People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
(Type 07Type 07Type 07 is a new family of military uniforms to be used by all branches of the People's Liberation Army and People's Armed Police of the People's Republic of China...
) - Turkish Armed ForcesTurkish Armed ForcesThe Turkish Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. They consist of the Army, the Navy , and the Air Force...
(UCP like has 7 colours) - Serbian Army and Police (M-10) and (DMDU-03)
- Kuwaiti Army (KAPAT)
- Russian Federation Army (SURPAT, Pixel Flora, and KSOR Digital)
- Royal Thai Armed ForcesIndonesian ArmyIndonesian ArmyThe Indonesian Army , the land component of the Indonesian Armed Forces, has an estimated strength of 328,517 regular personnel. The force's history began in 1945 when the Tentara Keamanan Rakyat "Civil Security Forces" served as paramilitary and police.Since the nation's independence struggle,...
Batalyon Raiders - Mexican Armed ForcesMexican ArmyThe Mexican Army is the combined land and air branch and largest of the Mexican Military services; it also is known as the National Defense Army. It is famous for having been the first army to adopt and use an automatic rifle, , in 1899, and the first to issue automatic weapons as standard issue...
(SEDENA-08 Types A, B C, and D) - Lebanese Airborne Regiment
- Lebanese Navy SEALs RegimentLebanese Navy SEALs RegimentThe Navy SEALs Regiment or Navy Commando Regiment is Lebanon's elite Maritime Special Operations unit and is a member of the Lebanese Special Operations Command. It is regarded as being one of the best Naval Special Forces units in the Middle East...
- Singapore Armed Forces woodland and arid)
- Yemeni Internal Security Forces.
The South Korean Army around August 2006 adopted a digital camouflage pattern similar to the USMC's MARPAT for its Special Warfare Command units. The German
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
, Danish
Royal Danish Army
The Royal Danish Army is the land warfare branch of the Danish Defence Forces, together with the Danish Home Guard.For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures, equipment and training methods, abandoning its traditional role of anti-invasion...
, and Japanese military use camouflage that involves dots (flecktarn
Flecktarn
Flecktarn is a 3-, 4-, 5- or 6-colour disruptive camouflage pattern. The use of spots creates a "dithering" effect, which eliminates hard boundaries between the different colours in much the same way the squares in the newest digital camouflage patterns do...
) instead of pixelated patterns. Digital camouflage for personal clothing is being actively evaluated by e.g. Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Digital camouflage in desert colours is used by Kuwaiti army
Kuwaiti Army
Kuwaiti Army is the primary land force of the Military of Kuwait.Kuwait's postwar equipment orders include 200 M-84 tanks and eighteen self-propelled 155mm guns from France. Kuwait also has received United States, Russian, and Egyptian armored vehicles...
forces, replacing older patterns in 2007. Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
adopted a similar design in 2008.
Land vehicles
Aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance that is conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles or reconnaissance aircraft. Their roles are to collect imagery intelligence, signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence...
. The goal is to disrupt the characteristic shape of the vehicle, to reduce shine, and to make the vehicle difficult to identify even if it is spotted.
Paint is the least effective measure, but forms a basis for other techniques. Military vehicles often become so dirty that pattern-painted camouflage is not visible, and although matt colours are used to reduce shine, a wet vehicle can still be very shiny, especially when viewed from above. Patterns are designed to make it more difficult to interpret shadows and shapes. The British Army adopted a disruptive scheme for their vehicles operating in the stony desert of the North African Campaign
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 also Greece, retrospectively known as the "Caunter scheme". This used up to six colours applied with straight lines.
The British Army's Special Air Service
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
used pink as the primary colour on its 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...
-camouflaged Land Rover Series IIA patrol vehicles, nicknamed Pink Panthers; the distinctly non-macho colour had been observed to be indistinguishable from sand, at a distance.
Nets can be effective at defeating visual observation. Traditional camouflage nets use a textile ‘garnish’ to generate an apparent texture with a depth of shadow created beneath it. Modern nets tend to be made of a continuous woven material, which is easier to deploy over a vehicle and doesn’t have “windows” between the patches of garnish of traditional nets. Nets are occasionally fixed in place around gun tubes or turrets, and if adequately attached can remain in place while the tank is moving. Nets are less effective in defeating radar and thermal sensors. Heavier, more durable mobile camouflage systems have been developed to bridge the technology gap between paint and nets. Essentially they are conformal duvets which can include materials with thermal and radar properties.
Ship
Until the 20th century, naval weapons had a very short range, so camouflage was unimportant for ships, and for the men on board them. Paint schemes were selected on the basis of ease of maintenance or aesthetics, typically buffBuff (colour)
Buff is a pale yellow-brown colour that got its name from the colour of buff leather.Displayed on the right is the colour buff.EtymologyAccording to the Oxford English Dictionary, buff as a descriptor of a colour was first used in the London Gazette of 1686, describing a uniform to be "A Red Coat...
upperworks (with polished brass fittings) and white or black hulls. At the turn of the century the increasing range of naval engagements, as demonstrated by the Battle of Tsushima
Battle of Tsushima
The Battle of Tsushima , commonly known as the “Sea of Japan Naval Battle” in Japan and the “Battle of Tsushima Strait”, was the major naval battle fought between Russia and Japan during the Russo-Japanese War...
, prompted the introduction of the first camouflage, in the form of some solid shade of gray overall, in the hope that ships would fade into the mist.
First and Second World War Dazzle camouflage
Dazzle camouflage
Dazzle camouflage, also known as Razzle Dazzle or Dazzle painting, was a camouflage paint scheme used on ships, extensively during World War I and to a lesser extent in World War II...
was used not to make ships disappear, but to make them seem smaller and/or faster, to encourage misidentification by an enemy and to make the ships harder to hit.
After the Second World War, the universal adoption of radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
made camouflage generally less effective. However, camouflage may have helped to protect United States warships from Vietnamese shore batteries using optical rangefinders.
Aircraft
Countershading
Countershading, or Thayer's Law, is a form of camouflage. Countershading, in which an animal’s pigmentation is darker dorsally, is often thought to have an adaptive effect of reducing conspicuous shadows cast on the ventral region of an animal’s body...
, where a light colour was used underneath and darker colours above.
Other camouflage schemes acknowledge that the aircraft will be twisting and turning while in combat, and the camouflage pattern is applied to the entire aircraft.
The higher speeds of modern aircraft, and the reliance on radar and missiles in air combat have reduced the value of visual camouflage, while increasing the value of electronic "stealth
Stealth technology
Stealth technology also termed LO technology is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive electronic countermeasures, which cover a range of techniques used with personnel, aircraft, ships, submarines, and missiles, to make them less visible to radar, infrared, sonar and other detection...
" measures. Modern paint is designed to absorb electromagnetic radiation used by radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
, reducing the signature of the aircraft, and to limit the emission of infrared light used by heat seeking missiles
Infrared homing
Infrared homing refers to a passive missile guidance system which uses the emission from a target of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared part of the spectrum to track and follow it. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers", since infrared is just below the...
to detect their target. Further advances in aircraft camouflage are being investigated in the field of active camouflage
Active camouflage
Active camouflage or adaptive camouflage, is a group of camouflage technologies which allow an object to blend into its surroundings by use of panels or coatings capable of altering their appearance, color, luminance and reflective properties...
.
In fashion and art
The transfer of camouflage patterns from battle to exclusively civilian uses is not recent. The first military camouflage was used by the French on their military vehicles, and within three weeks of the German invasion of France in 1914, the couturiers of Paris, having observed them, had turned those abstract patterns into women's clothing. It symbolized modernity to them, the first industrial war. Ironically, this meant that camouflage patterns were used for civilian clothing long before it was used for uniforms.Dazzle camouflage
Dazzle camouflage
Dazzle camouflage, also known as Razzle Dazzle or Dazzle painting, was a camouflage paint scheme used on ships, extensively during World War I and to a lesser extent in World War II...
also inspired a trend of dazzlesque patterns used on clothing in England. In 1919, Chelsea Arts Club held a "Dazzle Ball", those attending wore dazzle-patterned black and white clothing, influencing twentieth-century fashion and art via postcards (see illustration) and magazine articles. The Illustrated London News
Illustrated London News
The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
announced
- The scheme of decoration for the great fancy dress ball given by the Chelsea Arts Club at the Albert Hall, the other day, was based on the principles of 'Dazzle', the method of 'camouflage' used during the war in the painting of ships... The total effect was brilliant and fantastic.
The earliest camouflage artists were members of the Post- Impressionist
Post-Impressionism
Post-Impressionism is the term coined by the British artist and art critic Roger Fry in 1910 to describe the development of French art since Manet. Fry used the term when he organized the 1910 exhibition Manet and Post-Impressionism...
and Fauve
Fauvism
Fauvism is the style of les Fauves , a short-lived and loose group of early twentieth-century Modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the representational or realistic values retained by Impressionism...
schools of France. The camouflage experts were, for the most part, painters like Forain
Jean-Louis Forain
Jean-Louis Forain was a French Impressionist painter, lithographer, watercolorist and etcher.-Overview:Forain was born in Reims, Marne but at age eight, his family moved to Paris. He began his career working as a caricaturist for several Paris journals including Le Monde Parisien and Le rire...
, Camoin
Charles Camoin
Charles Camoin[p] was a French painter associated with the Fauves.Born in Marseille, France, Camoin met Henri Matisse in Gustave Moreau's class at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris...
, Villon
Jacques Villon
Jacques Villon was a French cubist painter and printmaker.-Early life:Born Gaston Emile Duchamp in Damville, Eure, in the Haute-Normandie region of France, he came from a prosperous and artistically inclined family...
and Marcoussis
Louis Marcoussis
Louis Marcoussis, formerly Ludwik Kazimierz Wladyslaw Markus or Ludwig Casimir Ladislas Markus, was a painter and engraver of Polish origin who lived in Paris for much of his life and became a French citizen.After studying law briefly in Warsaw he went to the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, where his...
, sculptors like Boucher
Alfred Boucher
A French sculptor, Alfred Boucher , mentor to Camille Claudel and friend of Auguste Rodin.Born in Bouy-sur-Ovin , he was the son of a farmhand who became the gardener of the sculptor Chantalle van Zanten, who, after recognizing Boucher's talent, opened his studio to him.He won the Grand Prix du...
and Despiau
Charles Despiau
Charles Despiau was a French sculptor.Despiau was born at Mont-de-Marsan, Landes and attended first the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs and later the Ecole des Beaux Arts...
, and theatre set artists .
Camouflage schemes of the First World War and Interwar periods that employed disruptive patterns were often described as "cubist" by commentators, and Picasso claimed with typical hyperbole Yes, it is we who made it, that is cubism
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
.
But most of the artists employed as camoufleurs were traditional representative painters, not cubists. De Scévola himself, however, did claim
- In order to deform totally the aspect of the object, I had to employ the means that cubists use to represent it.
While many artists helped to develop camouflage during and since World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the disparate sympathies of the two cultures restrained the use of "militaristic" forms other than in the work of war artist
War artist
A war artist depicts some aspect of war through art; this might be a pictorial record or it might commemorate how "war shapes lives." War artists have explored a visual and sensory dimension of war which is often absent in written histories or other accounts of warfare.- Definition and context:A...
s. Since the 1960s, however, several notable artists have exploited the symbolism of camouflage, including:
- Andy WarholAndy WarholAndrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
(notably his 1986 camouflage series, his last major work, including Camouflage Self-PortraitCamouflage Self-PortraitSelf-Portrait is a 1986 work by the American artist Andy Warhol. The portrait is in a camouflage-patterned foreground with a black background.-Analysis:Andy Warhol made Self-portrait a few months before his death, which was in February 1987....
)
- Alain JacquetAlain JacquetAlain Jacquet was a French artist representative of the American Pop Art movement.-Life and career:Jacquet was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Though he studied architecture at École des Beaux-Arts as a painter he was an autodidact.Camouflage Botticelli is a famous work of his...
(extraordinarily prolific in camouflage works from 1961 into the 1970s)
- Ian Hamilton FinlayIan Hamilton FinlayIan Hamilton Finlay, CBE, was a Scottish poet, writer, artist and gardener.-Biography:Finlay was born in Nassau, Bahamas of Scottish parents. He was educated in Scotland at Dollar Academy. At the age of 13, with the outbreak of World War II, he was evacuated to family in the countryside...
(Arcadia, 1973, a screenprint of a leafily-camouflaged tank: "an ironic parallel between this idea of a natural paradise and the camouflage patterns on a tank", as the Tate Collection describes it.)
- VeruschkaVeruschkaVera Gräfin von Lehndorff-Steinort is a German model, actress, and artist who was popular during the 1960s...
(Vera von Lehndorff) and Holger Trülzsch ("Nature, Signs & Animals", "Mimicry-Dress-Art", 1970-73)
- Thomas HirschhornThomas Hirschhorn-Life and works:In the 1980s, Hirschhorn worked in Paris as a graphic artist. He was part of the group of Communist graphic designers called Grapus. These artists were concerned with politics and culture, displaying impromptu creations and posters on the street mostly using the language of...
(Utopia : One World, One War, One Army, One Dress, 2005).
In the United States in the 1960s, military clothing became increasingly common (mostly olive drab rather than patterned camouflage); interestingly, it was often found worn by anti-war protestors
Opposition to the Vietnam War
The movement against US involvment in the in Vietnam War began in the United States with demonstrations in 1964 and grew in strength in later years. The US became polarized between those who advocated continued involvement in Vietnam, and those who wanted peace. Peace movements consisted largely of...
, initially within groups such as Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Vietnam Veterans Against the War is a tax-exempt non-profit organization and corporation, originally created to oppose the Vietnam War. VVAW describes itself as a national veterans' organization that campaigns for peace, justice, and the rights of all United States military veterans...
but then increasingly widely as a symbol of political protest.
Fashion
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
often uses camouflage as inspiration - attracted by the striking designs, the "patterned disorder" of camouflage, its symbolism (to be celebrated or subverted [vide its use by Hello Kitty
Hello Kitty
is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio, first designed by Yuko Shimizu. She is portrayed as a female white Japanese bobtail cat with a red bow. The character's first appearance on an item, a vinyl coin purse, was introduced in Japan in 1974 and brought to the United States...
]), and its versatility. Early designers include Marimekko
Marimekko
Marimekko is a Finnish company based in Helsinki that has made important contributions to fashion, especially in the 1960s and 1970s. They are particularly noted for brightly-colored printed fabrics and simple styles, used both in women's garments and in home furnishings.- Foundation :Marimekko was...
(1960s), Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
1949: Born on November 28th in Casablanca, son of Louis and Jeanne-Blanche de Castelbajac1968: First collection for Ko and Co, company created at Limoges by his mother Jeanne-Blanche de Castelbajac1969: First show...
(1975-), Roland Chakal (1970), Stephen Sprouse
Stephen Sprouse
Stephen Sprouse was a fashion designer and artist credited with pioneering the 1980s mix of "uptown sophistication in clothing with a downtown punk and pop sensibility" .-Career:...
(using Warhol prints, 1987–1988), and Franco Moschino
Franco Moschino
Franco Moschino was an Italian fashion designer remembered for his witty, colorful, lively and provocative designs which not only challenged, but poked fun at, the fashion establishment.-Early years:...
(1986), but it was not until the 1990s that camouflage became a significant and widespread facet of dress from streetwear to high-fashion labels - especially the use of "faux-camouflage". Producers using camouflage in the 1990s and beyond include: John Galliano
John Galliano
John Charles Galliano CBE, RDI is a Gibraltan-born British fashion designer who was best known as head designer of French haute couture houses Givenchy and Christian Dior , and his own self titled fashion house.-Family:He was born in Gibraltar to a Gibraltarian father, Juan Galliano, and a...
for Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
, Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for Marc Jacobs, as well as Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, with more than 200 retail stores in 60 countries. He has been the creative director of the French design house Louis Vuitton since 1997...
for Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,...
, Comme des Garçons
Comme des Garçons
Comme des Garçons, written コム・デ・ギャルソン in Japanese and French for "Like Boys," is a Japanese fashion label headed by Rei Kawakubo, who owns the company with her husband Adrian Joffe....
, Chanel
Chanel
Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
, Tommy Hilfiger
Tommy Hilfiger
Thomas Jacob "Tommy" Hilfiger is an American fashion designer and founder of the premium lifestyle brand Tommy Hilfiger.-Early life:...
, Dolce & Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana is an Italian luxury industry fashion house. The company was started by the Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana in Milan, Italy. By 2005 their turnover was €597 million....
, Issey Miyake
Issey Miyake
is a Japanese fashion designer. He is known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances.-Life and career:Miyake was born 22 April 1938 in Hiroshima, Japan. As a seven year-old, he witnessed and survived the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. He studied...
, Armani, Yves Saint-Laurent.
Companies closely associated with camouflage patterns include Maharishi, mhi, Zoo York
Zoo York
Zoo York is a style and social philosophy inspired by the New York City graffiti art subculture of the 1970s. Its name originates from a subway tunnel running underneath the area of the Central Park Zoo...
, Addict, 6876, A Bathing Ape
A Bathing Ape
A Bathing Ape is a Japanese clothing company founded by Nigo in 1993. The company specializes in men's, women's and kids' lifestyle and street wear, running 19 stores in Japan, including Bape Stores, Bape Pirate Stores, Bape Kids Stores, Bapexclusive Aoyama, and Bapexclusive Kyoto...
, Stone Island
Stone Island
Stone Island is an Italian Designer brand from Sportswear Company based in Bologna. The label was set up by Italian designer Massimo Osti in 1982 as a secondary line or diffusion collection of his main C.P Company label...
, and Girbaud), using and overprinting genuine military surplus fabric; others use camouflage patterns in bright colours such as pink or purple. Some, such as Emma Lundgren, have created their own designs or integrated camouflage patterns with other symbols.
Some countries such as Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
, and other Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
nations have strict laws that prohibit camouflage clothing from being worn by non-military personnel, including tourists and children.
External links
- "Abbott Thayer's Camouflage Demonstrations: Countershading, Disruption and Background Picturing"
- Shipcamouflage.com
- Roy R. Behrens - Art and Camouflage: An Annotated Bibliography
- U.S. Army manual FM 21-76 on camouflage
- Guy Hartcup - Camouflage: A History of Concealment and Deception in War (1980)
- WWII War Department Field Manual FM 5-20B: Camouflage of Vehicles (1944)
- Over 70 different Camo-Patterns in direct Comparison
- Camouflage Paint Colours