Information about Military Camouflage

Camouflage became an essential part of modern military tactics after the increase in accuracy and rate of fire of weapons during the 19th century. Despite camouflage's demonstrated value, until the 20th century, armies tended to use bright colours and bold, impressive designs. These were intended to daunt the enemy, foster unit cohesion, allow easier identification of units in the fog of war, and attract recruits. Not until these uniforms covered the bodies of men in long windrows across the battlefield was there a clear pressure for change.

Different countries have undergone different evolution stages towards the development of military camouflage.

History

United Kingdom

Main article: British Army uniform

In England irregular units of gamekeepers in the 17th century were the first to adopt drab colours (common in the 16th century Irish units) while using rifled firearms, following examples from the continent. A later example of a camouflaged unit would be the 95th Rifle Regiment, which was created during the Napoleonic Wars 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 stark contrast to the Line regiments' scarlet tunics and following the jaeger tradition of rifle troops in Europe. The British in India were forced by casualties to dye their white summer tunics to neutral tones, initially a muddy tan called khaki (from the Hindi-Urdu word for "dusty"). This was only a temporary measure. It became standard in Indian service in the 1880s, but it was not until the Second Boer War that, in 1902, the uniforms of the entire British Army were standardised on this dun tone for Service Dress.

France

Other armies retained brighter colours. At the beginning of World War I, the French retained red (garance) trousers as part of their uniform. This was changed in early 1915. The French Army also adopted a new "horizon blue" jacket. The Belgian Army started using khaki uniforms in 1915.

The French also established a Section de Camouflage (Camouflage Department) in 1915, briefly headed by Eugene Corbin and then by Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scévola. The camouflage experts were, for the most part, painters, sculptors, theatre-set artists and such. Technological constraints meant that patterned camouflage uniforms were not mass-produced during World War I. Each patterned uniform was hand-painted, and so they were restricted to snipers, forward artillery observers, and other exposed individuals. More effort was put into concealing larger pieces of equipment and important structures. By mid-1915 the French section had four workshops (one in Paris and three nearer the front) mainly producing camouflage netting and painted canvas. Netting quickly moved from wire and fabric to use raffia, burlap, and cocoa—the integration of natural materials was always recommended.

Other nations

The United States, who had green-jacketed rifle units in the Civil War, was 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.

20th century wars

Units of Camoufleurs who were artists, designers, or architects in civilian life were also largely used by the forces of the United Kingdom (Camouflage Section established in late 1916 based at Wimereux) and the U.S. (New York Camouflage Society, established in April 1917; official Company A, 40th Engineers, set up in January 1918; and the Women's Reserve Camouflage Corps) and to a lesser extent by Germany (from 1917, see, for example, Lozenge, possibly the earliest printed camouflage), Italy (Laboratorio di mascheramento, established in 1917), Belgium and Russia. The word camouflage first entered the English language in 1917.

Camouflage added to helmets was unofficially popular, but these were not mass-produced until the Germans began in 1916 to issue Stahlhelm (steel helmets) in green, brown, or ochre. Mass-produced patterned, reversible, cloth covers were also issued shortly before the end of the war. Net covering was also examined, either fitted with natural vegetation or with coloured fabric strips called scrim.

Specialist troops, notably snipers, could be supplied with various items of 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 suits.

The first mass-produced military camouflage material was the Italian telo mimetico ("mimetic cloth") pattern of 1929, used to cover a shelter-half (telo tenda), an idea copied by the Germans in 1931 but with her own camouflage history, beginning in 1918 with the German Buntfarbenanstrich. With mass-production of patterned fabrics possible, they became far more common on individual soldiers in World War II. Initially, patterning was uncommon, a sign of elite units, to the extent that captured camouflage uniforms would be often "recycled" by an enemy. The Red Army issued "amoeba" disruptive-pattern suits to snipers from 1937 and all-white ZMK top-garments the following year, but it was not until hostilities began that more patterns were used.

German Military tent camouflage from 1931

The SS-plane-tree pattern (autumn variation)

The Germans had experimented before the war, and some army units used "splinter" pattern camouflage. Waffen-SS combat units experimented since 1935 with various patterns. The first and a lot of other SS-camouflages was designed by Prof. Johann Georg Otto Schick.

• Platanenmuster – "plane-tree pattern" (1937 - 1942) – spring/summer- and autumn/winter variations
• Rauchtarnmuster – "blurred edge" (1939 - 1944) – spring/summer- and autumn/winter variations
• Palmenmuster – "palm pattern" (ca. 1941 – ?) – sommer/autumn variations
• Beringtes Eichenlaubmuster – "oak leaf B" (1942 bis 1945)
• Eichenlaubmuster – "oak leaf A" (1943 - 1945) – spring/summer- and autumn/winter variations
• Erbsenmuster – "pea pattern" (1944 - 1945)– spring/summer- and autumn/winter variations
• Leibermuster (1945)
• and also telo mimetico ("mimetic cloth") using fabric seized from the Italians in 1943 (the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler often wore this pattern).

The Sumpfmuster ("swamp pattern") is a Wehrmacht camouflage and was first introduced in 1943. Another variation was introduced in 1944.

All names of the German camouflages are not authentic; an exception is the word "Leibermuster".

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 famous for his camouflage work in the North African campaign). The British did not use disruptive-pattern uniforms until 1942, with the hand-painted Denison smock for paratroopers, followed in 1943 with a similar style M42 garment.

The U.S. Corps of Engineers began wide-ranging experiments in 1940, but little official notice was taken until 1942 when General Douglas MacArthur demanded 150,000 jungle camouflage uniforms. A 1940 design, dubbed "frog-skin" or "leopard spot", was chosen and issued as a reversible beach/jungle coverall — soon changed to a two-part jacket and trousers. It was first issued to the U.S. Marines fighting on the Solomon Islands and worn by Marine Raiders and Paramarine units as well as by many regular Marine units in the Battle of Tarawa. Battlefield experience showed that pattern was unsuitable for moving troops, and production was halted in 1944 with a return to standard single-tone uniforms. Many surplus US "leopard spot" uniforms were worn by French Parachutists in the First Indochina War.

During 1944, specialized units of the 2nd Armored Division serving in Normandy were issued with "frog skin"/"leopard spot" camouflage pattern uniforms, but an apparent similarity to the battledress worn by Waffen SS troops in the theatre led to some friendly fire incidents, and it was withdrawn [1]. Though full "leopard spot" uniforms were worn by United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance and US Navy SEAL teams, "leopard spot" camouflage continued in the USMC during and after World War II in the form of shelter (tent) halves and helmet covers worn by the Marines up until the 1960s, leading to the chant 'green side in, brown side out, run in circles, scream and shout' when unit commanders would make troops change their shelter halves and helmet covers from green to brown on various exercises. The "leopard spot" was later called "duck hunter" due to its use for civilian hunters. The CIA supplied "leopard spot" camouflage uniforms for Brigade 2506 Cuban exiles 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, 2004].

During the Vietnam War, U.S. troops were issued a "boonie suit" in a single dull shade of green for blending into the jungle. A variation on the World War II USMC helmet cover was issued with a tan and brown side (printed with large identification numbers) and a green jungle side with jagged leaf 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 colored 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.

Woodland Camouflage: It was not until 1982 that the U.S. Quartermaster Dept. developed another camouflage battle dress uniform (BDU) with the introduction of the M1981 ERDL Woodland pattern. With its organic shapes of green, brown, tan, and black, this was designed primarily for use in Europe. For the next two decades, this was the standard BDU for the Army, Marines, and Air Force. Solid olive drab uniforms were gradually phased out.

The Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991 spurred the development of the first desert camouflage uniform, a six-color blend of browns, tans, greens and dashes of black. The clusters of black spots resulted in it being nicknamed the "chocolate chip" pattern. This uniform was discontinued in less than three years as it contrasted too much with the terrain. Black was banished from all future camouflage designs. Samples of sand from Saudi Arabia were examined to find a matching color. The resulting "Desert Camouflage Pattern: Combat", standardized in 1993, consisted of a subtle blend of pastel green, tan, and brown. This remained in service for over a decade, most notably during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Currently this pattern is being replaced by various digital pixel patterns.

Digital camouflage

Digital camouflage is a pattern devised by utilizing small micropatterns, as opposed to larger macropatterns for effective disruption. 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 digital camouflage (dual-tex) on helicopters.

More recently, battledress in digital camouflage patterns has been adopted by the Canadian Forces (CADPAT), the United States Marine Corps (MARPAT), United States Army (Universal Camouflage Pattern), and much of the military of Jordan. The South Korean Army recently, possibly around August 2006, adopted a digital camouflage pattern that is somewhat similar to the USMC's MARPAT — it is currently being supplied to the Army Special Warfare Command units. The Finnish Defence Forces introduced the digital M05 camouflage in 2007. The Chinese People's Liberation Army introduced the digital Type 07 camouflage in mid-2007. The German and Danish armies today use camouflage that involves dots instead of patterns (flecktarn). This type of camouflage is especially effective in woodlands or jungle areas.

Vehicle camouflage

Ship camouflage

Until the 20th century, naval weapons had a very short range, so camouflage was unimportant for ships; the men on board them had no need for camouflage, of course. Paint schemes were selected on the basis of ease of maintenance or esthetics, typically buff 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.

Early in the First World War, the unexpected effectiveness of submarines led combatant navies to try to confuse the submarines with dazzle camouflage on many ships. This was meant to break up the ship's appearance so that its identity, range and heading could not be easily determined, therefore the submarine would not be able to get into a good firing position. A related scheme was the painting of false waves on a ship's bow so that its speed would be overestimated.

In 1940 the United States Navy introduced several camouflage measures designed for a wide variety of ships and situations.

• Measure 1 was dark gray overall except for white structures above bridge level.
• Measure 2 was dark gray on the hull and light gray on the superstructure and turrets.
• Measure 4 was black overall. This was intended for night operations but it was found that even on very dark nights, black ships were more noticeable than gray ones.
• Measure 5 was a false bow wave.
• Measures 7 and 8 were used to make cruisers resemble destroyers.
• Measure 11 was sea blue overall, including the decks. It was used in the Pacific and Mediterranean to hide from aircraft.
• Measure 12 was navy blue or dark gray low on the hull, ocean gray at about the main deck level, and haze gray or pale gray above that. The boundaries between the different colors were irregular.
• Measure 13 was haze gray overall. This was found to provide reasonable protection in the widest range of conditions, and became the standard paint scheme after the war.
• Measure 14 was ocean gray overall. This was widely used on supply ships.
• Measure 16 was white with large polygonal patches of light sea blue. This was very suitable for the North Atlantic.
• Measure 21 was navy blue overall, including the decks. This largely replaced measure 11.
• Measure 22 was navy blue low on the hull, with haze gray above that. This was the single most popular measure since it made range estimation very difficult.
• Measure 31 was an army-style pattern of greens, browns and grays used by smaller ships like landing craft and PT boats that operated close to shore.
• Measure 32 was a mixture of polygons in navy blue, various grays and greens.
• Measure 33 was a mixture of polygons in various grays and lighter greens. This was very suitable for northern waters.

Except in measures 11 and 21, decks were a blue gray shade.

Between the wars, British naval ships were generally dark gray in northern waters, and light gray in the Mediterranean or tropical waters. In the first year of the war British captains largely painted their ships as they saw fit. As the war continued, the Admiralty introduced various standardized camouflage schemes.

• Western Approaches Scheme was white with large polygonal patches of light sea blue or light sea green. This was very suitable for the North Atlantic.
• Mountbatten pink was invented by Captain Louis Mountbatten. Its effectiveness was much disputed.
• Admiralty Disruptive Patterns were a wide range of patterns in blues, grays and greens with mottled boundaries between the various color patches.
• Admiralty Standard Schemes were light gray overall, except for a sea blue patch low on the hull, either between the main gun turrets or the entire length of the hull. They were much like the American measure 22.
• Admiralty Alternative Scheme was a dark gray hull with light gray turrets and superstructure. It was popular in the Mediterranean.
• Home Fleet Destroyer Scheme was like the Western Approaches Scheme but used darker shades of blue and gray in the rear half of the ship.

British decks were usually dark gray.

Kriegsmarine ships before the war were either light gray overall or had dark gray hulls. Many retained this scheme during the war. Others had dazzle camouflage, usually in combinations of pale gray, dark gray and sea blue. Smaller ships were painted a very pale gray to blend in with the mists of northern European waters. Larger ships often had their bows and sterns painted a different shade from the rest of the hull. German decks were a very dark gray.

Mussolini's navy retained its pre-war scheme of light gray overall for its smaller ships, but the larger units mostly had dazzle camouflage of dark gray, light sea blue, light sea green and light gray. Italian foredecks had a high-visibility pattern of red and white diagonal stripes so that their own aircraft would not attack them.

Japanese ships largely retained their pre-war dark gray paint scheme, although some major units like aircraft carriers changed to a dark sea green. Some aircraft carriers had their flight decks painted in a dazzle camouflage, but this seems to have been ineffective.

Soviet ships were dark gray overall, sometimes with medium gray upperworks.

The French Navy used light gray before the war and under the Vichy regime. Free French ships that operated with the British adopted one of the British schemes. Those that were refitted in American shipyards were usually repainted in the American measure 22.

After the Second World War, the universal adoption of radar made camouflage much less effective.

Aircraft camouflage

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. For this reason, many military aircraft are painted light blue below (to match the sky), but blotchy, darker colors above (to match the ground). The higher speeds of modern aircraft, and the reliance on radar and missiles to defend against them, have reduced the value of visual camouflage, while increasing the value of electronic camouflage ("stealth") measures.

Military camouflage in fashion and art

The transfer of camouflage patterns from battle to exclusively civilian uses is not a recent phenomenon. The first military camouflage was used by the French on their trucks and automobiles (the only military vehicles of the day) 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 means that it was used for civilian clothing long before it was used for uniforms. The earliest camouflage artists were members of the abstract expressionist school of Paris. The camouflage experts were, for the most part, painters like Forain, Camoin, Villon and Marcoussis, sculptors like Boucher and Despiau, and theatre set artists [2].

While many hundreds of artists were involved in the development of camouflage during and since World War I, the disparate sympathies of the two cultures restrained the use of "militaristic" forms in works other than those of war artists. Since the 1960s, however, artists have seized upon camouflage as a means to twist and subvert it away from its military origins and symbolism. The concept of camouflage - to conceal and distort shapes - is also a popular artistic tool.

Artists using camouflage include:

• Andy Warhol (notably his 1986 camouflage series, his last major work)
• Alain Jacquet (extraordinarily prolific in camouflage works from 1961 into the 1970s)
• Ian Hamilton Finlay, Vera von Lehndorff (aka Veruschka) and Holger Trülzsch ("Nature, Signs & Animals", "Mimicry-Dress-Art", all 1970-73)
• Thomas Hirschhorn (Utopia : One World, One War, One Army, One Dress, 2005).

Camouflage garments had a similarly hesitant adoption, although military styling has a long history of civilian use. Military patterns initially found civilian markets amongst hunters and, through military surplus, in those seeking clothing that was tough, well-made, and cheap in the United States and other countries. The steady output from countries using a national service model was influential, and several countries (initially the 'winning' sides of World War II, where there was less negative connection with military-wear) became significant markets. 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. In the years after the Vietnam War, camouflage military clothing became very popular among many people, replacing olive-drab military clothing.

The "rebellious" links of civilian camouflage diminished through the 1970s and beyond as more mainstream groups adopted a style seen as youthful and anti-establishment. Fashion has since become increasingly eager to adopt camouflage - 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 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, and others.

Certain companies have become very closely associated with camouflage patterns (such as Maharishi and mhi, Zoo York, Addict, 6876, A Bathing Ape, Stone Island, and Girbaud), using and overprinting genuine military surplus fabric, and have also extended the patterns by creating their own designs or integrating camouflage patterns with other symbols. The use of original patterns in new (often bright) colors is also common.

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. These laws may be motivated by the fear that a tourist might be mistaken by government troops for insurgents, or vice versa, and fired upon.

See also

• Active camouflage
• Ghillie suit
• Cosmetic Camouflage
• List of camouflage patterns
• Smoke screen

References

• Alan Raven - The Development of Naval Camouflage 1914 – 1945
• 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)
• Jon Latimer, Deception in War, London: John Murray, 2001
• WWII War Department Field Manual FM 5-20B: Camouflage of Vehicles (1944)
• Blechman, Hardy and Newman, Alex (2004). DPM: Disruptive Pattern Material. DPM Ltd. ISBN 0-9543404-0-X. 
• Behrens, Roy R. (2002). FALSE COLORS: Art, Design and Modern Camouflage. Bobolink Books. ISBN 0-9713244-0-9. 
• Everdell, William R. (1997). The First Moderns. University of Chicago Press. 
• Famous Ships of World War 2 in Color / Chris Ellis - Arco Publishing, 1977 - ISBN 0668042257. This goes into considerable detail about naval camouflage.