Military camouflage
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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 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.
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[edit] History
[edit] British
In England, smaller irregular units of gamekeepers in the 17th century were the first to adopt drab colours (common in the 16th C. 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 equipped with a rifle green jacket, in stark contrast to the Line regiments' scarlet tunics and following the jaeger tradition of rifle troops in Europe. 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 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 battledress.
[edit] United States
The United States, who had green jacketed rifle units in the revolution, 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.
[edit] 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 WW 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.
[edit] 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. 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.
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 ("palm pattern"), Sumpfmuster ("swamp pattern"), Erbsenmuster ("pea pattern"), and also telo mimetico ("mimetic cloth") using fabric seized from the Italians in 1943 (the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler often wore this pattern).
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 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 U.S. Marines fighting on the Solomon Islands. Battlefield experience showed that pattern was unsuitable for moving troops, and production was halted in 1944 with a return to standard single-tone uniforms.
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).
[edit] Digital camouflage
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 Army and Air Force (CADPAT), United States Army (ACUPAT), the United States Marine Corps (MARPAT), and much of the military of Jordan. 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. Also, People's Liberation Army of China is known to have been experimenting with digital camouflage patterns for some time. The Finnish Defence Forces introduced the digital M05 camouflage in 2007. The German and Danish armies today use camouflage that involves dots instead of patterns. This type of camouflage is especially effective in woodlands or jungle areas.
[edit] Ship camouflage
World War I also saw the advent of ship camouflage. Although most warships 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.
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 direction of Norman Wilkinson (who became Inspector of Airfield Camouflage in WW II).
[edit] 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 womens' 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 Bouchard and Despiau, and theatre set artists. [1]
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.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
- List of camouflage patterns
- Henrik Clausen
- Ghillie suit
- Active camouflage
- Cosmetic Camouflage
- Kamouflage.net
- Crye Precision's Multicam multi-environment pattern
- Roggenwolf digital camouflage
- Hyperstealth Biotechnology fractal camouflage
[edit] 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.
