Right from the advent of wars, soldiers and arms and ammunitions have been a part and parcel of the whole scenario. But the sense of completion occurred with the introduction of uniforms which finally went on to evolve into camouflage uniforms.
Last summer, the U.S, Army introduced the new Army Combat Uniform (ACU) in order to develop that perfect camouflage. This ACU has the Operational Camouflage Pattern also known as Scorpion W2. By the summer of 2018, the old uniforms are to retire completely. The earlier uniform had digital-like appearance and was known as the Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP). Use of camouflage by any army is nearly a couple of centuries old while in US army it is just 60 years. Let’s discuss the story of camouflage amongst ourselves today.
The first camouflage: Khaki
The khaki boasts of being the first type of camouflage. In England, by the Napoleanic wars, British rifle units wore green jackets. But in general they wore scarlet uniforms. Since the original flag of the UK was red and white, they used to wear Red coats with white trousers. As the British Empire expanded, it became difficult to wear heavy wool made scarlet uniforms in tropical climates like that of India. British Historian Nigel Thomas informs “Khaki was first used by the British by the British-Indian Army Corps of Guides cavalry regiment in 1849 in order to render the troops less conspicuous in their skirmishes with tribesmen on the North-Western Frontier of India (now Pakistan) deriving its name from the local Persian word “Khaki” meaning ash-coloured.
World War I and camouflage
In 1914, some armies still marched in bright colours for ex. French soldiers wore a uniform including a dark blue jacket and a red trouser. But as war deepened and progressed to trenches system the soldiers in the field started searching ways to blend in. New steel helmets were introduced that were painted in patterns to break up the lines. The Germans adopted quite unique patters in painting these helmets. It was these German patterns that were widely copied by the Americans but this was limited to helmets only and that too for the boat ride home and the subsequent victory parades. But it surely ushered in an era of camouflage.
World War II to Vietnam
Even by the time World War II broke, Americans had not developed anything like camouflage uniform. The soldiers wore khakis but that was because it had become a universal summer field uniform for the US Army and US Marine Corps. in July, 1942, General Douglas MacArthur called for the production of 15,000 jungle camouflage uniforms for use in the Pacific Theater. The chosen pattern was by Norvell Gillespie, a horticulturist and garden editor of Better Homes and Gardens. It consisted of a spot design of greens and browns, and was reversible to a tan/brown variation that could be used in fall and early spring conditions. It featured five colours in total and was nicknamed “frogskin” for its spotty pattern. Alec Tulkoff, author of “Grunt Gear: USMC Combat Infantry Equipment of World War II,” told that the first large scale usage of camouflage by the Marine Corps during WWII took place during the Solomon Island Operations, specifically on Bougainville in November of 1943.” These uniforms were ideal for dense forests vegetation. But several weeks later during the invasion of the island Tarave this camouflage proved futile as it didn’t blend in with the sandy island and palm trees.
One big and practical reason that the US army didn’t use the camouflage was because the German military was using a variety of patterns – and there was concern that soldiers in camouflage attire would be mistaken for the enemy.
In Vietnam, the American M1 steel helmet was issued with a cover that featured the USMC Mitchell pattern, which consisted of overlapping dark brown, russet, beige, light brown & ochre “leaf” shapes on a tan background. This pattern was tested for uniforms, but rejected and only widely used with the helmet covers. After Vietnam, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory (ERDL) developed a general purpose jungle camouflage consisting of mid-brown and grass green organic shapes with black “branches” on a lime green background. This pattern has been widely copied and is still in use throughout the world.
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