Battle Dress
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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, and South Africa, and after the Second World War, including Belgium and The Netherlands.
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[edit] Introduction
After extensive field trials of other uniforms,[1] Battle Dress was adopted just prior to the Second World War as a replacement for the Service Dress that had been a combined field and dress uniform since the early 1900s. The uniform consisted of two main items of clothing:
- Battle Dress Blouse - a waist length, fly fronted garment with two breast pockets and a collar done up at the neck.
- Battle Dress Trousers - loose fitting wool trousers, with buttons for braces as well as belt loops, two hip pockets, a rear pocket, and two external pockets; one on the (wearer's) upper right thigh, designed to hold a First Field Dressing, and a larger pocket on the upper left thigh, commonly called a "map pocket".
As well, a new headdress called the Field Service Cap was also introduced at this time, to replace the unwieldy Service Dress (forage style) Cap.
Battle Dress was issued widely beginning in 1939 in the British Army (as well as the Canadian Army, who produced their own copy of Battle Dress after the outbreak of war), though shortages meant that some units of the British Expeditionary Force went to France in Service Dress.
[edit] Variants
The so called P40 or Pattern 1940 Battle Dress (also known as "austerity pattern") was introduced in 1942; it deleted the fly front, and the front buttons, as well as the pocket buttons, were now exposed.
Officers were permitted to tailor the collar of their blouses so as to wear a collared shirt and tie.
Canadian Battle Dress never had an austerity pattern introduced, though the collar closure did change from a set of hooks and eyes to a flap and button in about 1943. The Canadian version was also a much greener shade of khaki than the standard version.[2]
The United States produced Battle Dress uniforms for use by the Commonwealth, these uniforms were known as "War Aid" Battle Dress.[3]
Battle Dress trousers with additional pockets sewn to them were known as Parachutist's Trousers and were issued to men in parachute and glider units.
A version of Battle Dress intended for working clothing was produced from denim with several manufacturer's variants.
Battle Dress in shades of postman blue and navy blue were also produced for the Royal Air Force (and Commonwealth flying services) and Royal Navy/Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (and Commonwealth naval services).
[edit] Post War
After the Second World War, individual Commonwealth nations developed their Battle Dress uniform into both a parade and a field uniform.
- British Pattern 1949: Several changes to Battle Dress were adopted by the British Army after the Second World War, with broad lapels added to the Battle Dress Blouse, giving it an open-collar design similar to Canadian 1949 Pattern. Enlisted men, as well as officers, now wore it with a collared shirt and tie. The cargo pocket on the trousers was moved completely to the side. Buttons on the pockets remained exposed, though a fly front was restored to 1949 Pattern BD. [4]
- Canadian Pattern 1949: Canada only produced one more version of Battle Dress after the war; Pattern 1949 had broad lapels added to the Battle Dress Blouse, giving it an open-collar design. The First Field Dressing was also removed from the trousers after the war. Battle Dress continued to be worn as a field uniform during the Korean War and up to the introduction of the Combat Uniform. It was retained for dress wear up until Unification of the Armed Forces, and into the 1970s by some Reserve units. Cadets at the Royal Military College of Canada continued to wear a Navy-blue variant of the Battle Dress Blouse until May of 2006.
[edit] Legacy
Battle Dress inspired the military combat uniforms of other nations such as the United States (who copied the Battle Dress Blouse directly with the M1944 "Ike" Jacket), Germany (whose copy of Battle Dress was called the Felduniform 44) and France (Modèle 1945 and 1946 pattern).
Waist-length denim jackets (known popularly as "jean jackets" in the decades after the Second World War) were inspired by the Battle Dress; another example of military clothing inspiring popular fashion.
[edit] References
- ^ Davis, Brian L. Uniforms and Insignia of the British Army
- ^ Dorosh, Michael A. Dressed to Kill (Service Publications, 2001.)
- ^ Gordon, David B. Uniforms of the WW II Tommy (Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 2005.)
- ^ Jewell, Brian and Mike Chappell. British Battledress 1937-61 (Osprey Publishing, 1981.)
