Camouflage

:For the German synth pop band, see Camouflage (band).

Camouflage in military history

Successful camouflage became an essential part of modern military tactics after the increase in accuracy and rate of fire of weapons at the end of the nineteenth century. But it has been part of military action since pre-history, ever since a hunter first smeared himself with earth or clay.

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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.

Related Topics:
20th century - Fog of war

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Smaller, irregular units of scouts or rangers in the 18th century were the first to adopt unit colours in drab shades of brown and green. Major armies retained their colour until convinced otherwise. The British in India in 1857 were forced by casualties to dye their red tunics to neutral tones, initially a muddy tan called khaki (from the Urdu for 'dusty'). This was only a temporary measure. It became standard in Indian service in the 1880s, but it was not until the Boer Wars that, in 1902, the uniforms of the entire British army were standardised on this dun tone for battledress.

Related Topics:
18th century - 1857 - Tunic - Khaki - 1880s - Boer War - 1902 - Battledress

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The United States were quick to follow the British, going khaki in the same year. Russia followed, partially, in 1908. The Italian army used grigio-verde in the Alps from 1906 and across the army from 1909. The Germans moved to feldgrau in 1910.

Related Topics:
1908 - 1906 - 1909 - 1910

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Other armies retained brighter colours. At the beginning of World War I the French experienced heavy losses because the troops wore red garance trousers as part of their uniform. This was changed in early 1915, partly due to casualties and partly because the red dye was manufactured in Germany. The French army also adopted a new 'horizon blue' jacket. The Belgian army started using khaki uniforms in 1915.

Related Topics:
World War I - 1915

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The French also established a section de camouflage 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 manufactured during WW I. Each patterned uniform was hand-painted, and so 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, hessian, and cocoa - the integration of natural materials was always recommended.

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Units of Camoufleurs who were artists, designers, or architects in civilian life were also largely used by the forces of the UK (Camouflage Section established in late 1916 based at Wimereux) and the US (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.

Related Topics:
1916 - 1917 - Lozenge

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Camouflage added to helmets was unofficially popular, but these were not mass-produced until the Germans began in 1916 to issue stahlhelme in green, brown, or ochre. Mass-produced patterned, reversible, cloth covers were also issued shortly before the end of the war, although hand-made examples were in use from late 1914. Net covering was also examined, either fitted with natural vegetation or with coloured fabric strips called scrim.

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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 adaption of the rag camouflage used in Scotland by anti-poaching wardens, gillies, the first ghillie suits.

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The first mass produced military camouflage material was the Italian telo mimetico pattern of 1929, used to cover a shelter-half (telo tenda), an idea copied by the Germans in 1931. With mass-production of patterned fabrics possible, they became far more common on individual soldiers in WW 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.

Related Topics:
1929 - 1931 - 1937

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The Germans had experimented before the war and some army units used "splinter" pattern camouflage. Waffen-SS combat units experimented with various patterns, including palmenmuster, sumpfmuster, erbsenmuster, and also telo mimetico using fabric seized from the Italians in 1943 - the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler division often wore this pattern.

Related Topics:
Waffen-SS - 1943 - ''Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler''

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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.

Related Topics:
1942 - Denison smock

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The US Corps of Engineers began wide-ranging experiments in 1940, but little official notice was taken until 1942 when General MacArthur demanded 150,000 jungle camouflage uniforms. A 1940 design, dubbed frog-skin, 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 US Marines fighting on the Solomon Islands. Battle-field experience showed that pattern was unsuitable for moving troops and production was halted in 1944 with a return to standard single-tone uniforms.

Related Topics:
1940 - MacArthur - US Marines

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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).

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From 1978 to the early 1980s, the American 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment stationed in Europe used a digital camouflage pattern on its vehicles. During 1979 and 1980 the Australian Army experimented with digital camouflage on helicopters. More recently, battledress in digital camouflage patterns has been adopted by the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force (CADPAT), the United States Marine Corps (MARPAT), and much of the military of Jordan.

Related Topics:
1978 - 1980s - 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment - 1979 - 1980 - Australian Army - Battledress - Canadian Army - Royal Canadian Air Force - CADPAT - United States Marine Corps - MARPAT - Military of Jordan

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Ship camouflage

World War I also saw the advent of ship camouflage. Although most gunships were still painted a uniform grey, five schemes were approved in the United States for merchant ship camouflage. Ships without camouflage were required to pay higher war risk premiums.

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Dazzle camouflage was briefly popular for ships in this period. Unlike true camouflage, the "dazzle" scheme used high contrast and confusing shapes to make it difficult for enemy forces to estimate speed and the range to the target ship — critical in the age of "dumb" gunnery and torpedoes. The effectiveness of "dazzle" is not entirely certain but it continued in use into World War II. By 1918 the British had applied various patterns to over 4,500 vessels - mainly under the directon of Norman Wilkinson (who became Inspector of Airfield Camouflage in WW II).

Related Topics:
Dazzle camouflage - Gun - Torpedo - Norman Wilkinson

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William MacKay, the creator of a popular scheme of camouflage approved by the Naval Consulting Board during World War I, wrote:

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:The structural and characteristic lines and angles of a ship can be either softened or destroyed. According as the ship is viewed through red or green or blue filter the ship presents three different images and though none of them an image so definite as a ship painted with a flat pigment gray.

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