Flecktarn
Flecktarn is a camouflage pattern that is used internationally today , in which colored irregular spots or dots are arranged on a basic tone. The principle was developed in various variants by Johann Georg Otto Schick on behalf of the Waffen SS from 1935 . Patterns based on this are still in use worldwide today.
effect
Flecktarn is used for camouflaging clothing and painting equipment, equipment and buildings.
The arrangement of the spots is intended to create an optical blurring of the outlines of the body, making it more difficult for the enemy to identify what they have seen as a disguised person. Since it was first developed in 1935, the pattern has proven itself for wooded terrain in Central Europe (mixed forest) and has since been able to establish itself in more and more varied pattern and color arrangements in almost all other regions and environmental zones around the world.
Flecktarn from 1935
The Waffen-SS was the first troop in the world to be equipped on a large scale with camouflage patterns in various designs and modifications on their clothing. The first of these camouflage patterns ("plane trees") had been developed by December 1936 by the director of the "T" ("camouflage") department, the Munich professor Johann Georg Otto Schick, established in 1935. In the meantime, Wim Brandt, doctor of engineering, who was appointed SS-Hauptsturmführer on March 1, 1936, drafted the guidelines for the individual pieces of equipment and clothing. After the development phase, test runs were carried out with sample clothing. From the middle of 1938 the first units were equipped with camouflage clothing.
The current naming of the Waffen-SS pattern comes from the post-war period and was first described by the Americans. Only a single German pattern from this period has become known under its historical German name. It is the last flecktarn made during the war that became known through American publications as " Leibermuster 1945 ". This body pattern was also developed by Johann Schick and printed with light-absorbing colorants in order to be able to offer protection against allied night vision devices . The production of the six-colored fabrics produced in this way was extremely complex. Therefore, due to the war, only very few pieces of the body pattern came to the troops. It was intended that this camouflage scheme should replace all previously introduced SS and Wehrmacht starring. However, these considerations were in contradiction to the Wehrmacht's own simultaneous development, the " Buntfarbenaufdruck 1945". The body pattern had a buff background with white spots printed on it. On top of that came a light green pattern as well as another printed layer of medium green in the form of leaves. Red-brown spots followed and finally black “branches” were placed over them.
The following camouflage patterns of the Waffen-SS are known:
- Sycamore pattern (1937 to 1942) - spring / summer and autumn / winter variant
- Smoke camouflage pattern (1939 to 1944) - spring / summer and autumn / winter variant
- Palm pattern (from late 1943) - summer / autumn variant, especially for units on the Eastern Front
- Ringed oak leaf pattern (1942 through 1945) - also Oakleaf type A called
- Oak pattern (1943 through 1945) - spring / summer and autumn / winter version - also Oakleaf Type B called
- Pea pattern (1943 to 1945) - introduced with the M43 twisted camouflage uniform, no reversible pattern
- Pea pattern ( Truppenversuch ) (1943) - after field trials with the Waffen-SS, a variant of the pea pattern was discarded after the war and introduced in Austria as "Kampfanzug M57" from 1957.
- Leibermuster (1945) - only introduced sporadically in 1945 with the M44 twisted camouflage uniform.
Another pattern rarely described in the literature is the block camouflage . Many variations of most of the designs were printed; Numerous rare, unusual but original pieces of equipment can also come from small test series that did not go into series production.
The camouflage patterns originally reserved for the Waffen-SS were also used by associations of the Wehrmacht and paratroopers during the war. Since the summer of 1942 , the Hermann Göring division had been equipped with camouflage helmet covers and camouflage uniforms of the Waffen SS as standard.
Manufacturing
Completely new methods were developed for the production of German fabrics, as industrial five- and six-color textile printing had never been tried on such a scale anywhere in the world. Although Germany had been the most important international supplier of fabric inks since the 19th century, multi-color screen printing, which was to appear in two versions on both sides of the fabric (reversible clothing), posed a particular challenge.
A mostly white, tightly woven and breathable synthetic fiber cotton fabric served as the printing surface. Initially, the prints were applied with anthrasol paint using the screen printing process, and then screen printing was combined with roller printing in a further developed process . The fabrics were first drawn through the printing machine with the basic patterns. Indanthrene dyes were used here for coloring . Then the remaining patterns, as well as color and design variations, could be applied using the screen printing process. Color gradients were achieved by overprinting. Printing on high quality linen material was very successful. However, the quality and goods of the fabrics became increasingly inferior towards the end of the war, so that the colors were correspondingly poorly depicted when the order was placed.
Numerous experimental samples also used such unusual colors as yellow, pink, purple and orange. Many pattern variants can be traced back to difficulties during the dyeing process, whereby there is no really conclusive explanation for the numbers that are often printed on.
Fakes
Historical German flecktarn, which is relatively rare today, has achieved top prices for modern uniforms at markets and auctions for decades. This attracted counterfeiters early on. The German “plane tree” and “pea pattern” as well as the “oak leaf pattern” are still among the most copied camouflage patterns worldwide. Counterfeits can be recognized by the fact that, in addition to modern man-made fibers, they use unhistorical and often inferior materials or do not follow the original print patterns and colors. There are also differences between the weaving techniques then and now. There are also numerous incorrect interpretations and variants of the patterns that cannot be historically proven. In addition, real historical German flecktarn can be recognized by the fact that the fabric is water-repellent. The fibers are very tightly woven and contract when they come into contact with water, which also makes the fabric stiffer. Steel helmet covers in particular are very popular with counterfeiters.
Flecktarn from 1945
Hungary
The SS plane tree pattern in the two variants spring / summer and autumn / winter was still applied in Hungary after the Second World War. In the 1950s to 1980s, several camouflage schemes derived from the SS oak leaf pattern were in use, which mainly differed in color.
Czechoslovakia
In 1954, the body pattern was introduced in Czechoslovakia in a 4-color variant with a reduced color. The pattern, which also deviates from the model, is mostly described in the literature as "oak leaf-like". The Czechoslovak body pattern has not been produced since 1962.
Federal Republic of Germany
Even before the establishment of the Bundeswehr and the public discussion about its pros and cons, the federal government had set up the " Dienststelle Blank " under the "Special Representative of the Chancellor", State Secretary Theodor Blank , in October 1950 , which dealt with the contemporary uniforms of future German soldiers. After establishment of the Bundeswehr in 1955, a battle suit in a slightly different was with the troops immediately splinter M31 of the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht introduced, but in the early 1960s against the NATO -Partnern ajar monochrome Olive variant in the color RAL 6014 (Gelboliv ) replaced.
Between 1955 and the beginning of 1956, a slightly modified variant of the body pattern planned for the SS and all parts of the army in 1945 was briefly used in troop trials by the Bundeswehr. The origin of this development was the European Defense Community (EDC) planned from 1952 and the uniforms intended for this association. After France, for fear of restrictions on its sovereignty, canceled the treaty that had already been ratified by all other participating states, the further development of a uniform European combat suit was stopped. The six-color fabric print and the uniforms made from it all come from Belgium. The tests at the Bundeswehr were ended without any known results.
From 1976 the interest in a camouflage pattern was awakened again. Therefore, in the second half of 1976, the Bundeswehr carried out a series of troop tests with which the effectiveness of various new camouflage patterns was to be tested. Various five-color patterns were tested, including Flecktarn B (large), which was a computer-aided new development that was visually reminiscent of the SS plane tree pattern. It was found that this pattern achieves the best camouflage effect in Central Europe. Therefore, it was introduced in the Bundeswehr in 1990.
On the basis of Flecktarn B (large) the Bundeswehr developed the so-called " Tropical Camo " in 1993/94 , whereby the five-color print of Flecktarn B (large) was reduced to three colors and the color was adapted to the desert / semi-desert terrain. This pattern was made necessary by the deployment of the Bundeswehr, which had meanwhile been expanded to include foreign theaters of war.
Switzerland
In 1957, another variant of the body pattern M45 (colored printing 45) was introduced in Switzerland. The elaborate German six-color printing was adopted. The Swiss camouflage pattern consisted of a stronger red component, in which the other camouflage colors partially overlapped. Here, too, a black carbon color was used to ensure that the outlines of the soldier merge in ultraviolet light. The camouflage pattern was later uniformly referred to as Taz83 and was in use until 1995. There have been some color variations over the decades, although the original origin has always remained clear. In some cases, the Swiss version also has the imaginary name “Alpenflage” (from the Alps and camouflage ). The Swiss “Woodland” liver pattern, named Taz90, introduced in 1993, is a new variant of the Swiss pattern without red. The previous pattern was retained, but the color scheme was based on the "Woodland" pattern introduced in the US Army in 1981, which is a variant of the ERDL camouflage pattern developed in 1948, maximized by a sixth. The ERDL camouflage pattern was based on the Wehrmacht's M45 splinter camo, which was no longer used.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union , the Swiss Taz83 body pattern was also worn in Russia by units of the Ministry of the Interior (MWD).
Austria
In Austria the special properties of flecktarn with regard to a body-dissolving camouflage effect were rediscovered as early as 1956 and in 1957 a fabric print derived directly from the SS pea camouflage pattern was introduced in the Austrian Armed Forces , which was named "Fleckerl carpet" by the troops.
The pea camo is a variant of the flecktarn produced for the first time in 1943. According to the opinion of specialist book authors, Austrian pea camouflage production was discontinued in 1978 for political reasons when the global trend towards flecktarn was only just beginning. With Suit 75 and Suit 03, the Austrian Armed Forces have no officially introduced camouflage uniform for the bulk of soldiers. You wear these green (RAL 7013) uniforms on duty, to the exit as well as in the field, which become a combat suit simply by putting on the harness or the combat vest. A beige version of the 03 suit, called "Hot Weather Clothing", is also in use. Pictures of soldiers of the Jagdkommando published by the armed forces show various camouflage suits in use.
In September 2017 the Austrian Armed Forces announced that they were planning to introduce a new uniform. The camouflage pattern developed by the armed forces itself consists of six colors, with the design being composed of small and large patches.
German Democratic Republic
In 1958, the National People's Army ( NVA ) and the Ministry of the Interior ( MdI ) introduced a reinterpreted camouflage pattern ("surface camouflage pattern"), which is reminiscent of the historical oak leaf pattern. The GDR flecktarn was produced until 1967 and demonstrably used until 1971 for the production of field service clothing. It was slowly being replaced by the streak thread pattern that has been in production since 1965. In soldiers' jargon, the camouflage pattern was also referred to as "flower camouflage".
Spain
In Spain between 1960 and 1982 a five-color year-round pattern was in use, which was derived directly from the SS body pattern. The Spaniards produced six templates in different colors for different landscape backgrounds.
Egypt
In 1973 a reversible flecked camouflage uniform was in use in Egypt, the "Felstarn" side being derived directly from the SS plane tree pattern. Even the color scheme showed very clear similarities. The other side is printed with a simple desert camo. Dark brown simple stains ("cow stains") are applied to the beige background. This flecktarn was used until the 1980s.
Denmark
Denmark has been using a camouflage pattern for clothing and personal equipment copied from the Bundeswehr Flecktarn B since 1978, in which the colors of the prevailing vegetation in Scandinavian forests have been adapted. The Danish pattern consists only of the three colors light green, bronze green and black. Almost unchanged from the German artwork, the Danish armed forces copied the Bundeswehr desert camouflage pattern with their Danish M99 desert camouflage, with a medium green shade being sprinkled.
Belgium
Flecktarn B (large) of the Bundeswehr was also used in unchanged form by the Belgian Air Force (Belgische Luchtmacht - Force Aérienne Belge) for object protection and anti-aircraft units from 1988 to 2000. In the meantime it has been replaced there by the army camouflage pattern commonly used (so-called puzzle camouflage due to the similarity of the spots with puzzle pieces). It is noteworthy that the model developed in Germany was put into general use by the Belgian Air Force almost three years before it was introduced into the Bundeswehr. The 'Belgische Luchtmacht - Force Aérienne Belge' also used a modular carrying set and a two-part backpack in a camouflage pattern to complete the uniform consisting of field pants, blouse and parka.
Russia
Troops of the Ministry of the Interior (Внутренние Войска Министерства Внутренних Дел) of the Russian Federation use commercially procured uniforms in camouflage print very similar to the German 5-color or the Danish 3-color camouflage pattern. However, since just seem these troops personal preferences about official regulations to dominate, camouflage patterns are used here verschiedenster provenance, so among other things, almost verbatim copies of the Waffen-SS 'Eichentarnmusters', as well as on various photos of the Beslan hostage crises can be seen .
Romania
The Romanian army also uses a simplified flecktarn pattern, which is currently being replaced by a 'Woodland' derivative.
Poland
A pattern in shades of gray, similar to Flecktarn, is used by Polish special forces. However, the pattern is repeated regularly in print at relatively short intervals.
China
The Chinese People's Liberation Army uses a camouflage pattern copied unchanged from the Bundeswehr Flecktarn B (large) for the uniforms of the mountain troops operating in occupied Tibet. According to information from the clothing industry, the original print templates were probably obtained from a North German clothing factory that manufactures uniforms on behalf of the Bundeswehr and had part of its production temporarily carried out by a Chinese subcontractor. This variant corresponds exactly to the German pattern in terms of shape and division of the spots, but consists of the following colors: beige, light green, medium brown, dark brown and black.
The Chinese army also uses a camouflage pattern with the color combination of medium green, greenish-beige, beige, medium brown and black. Interestingly, however, this pattern is only used for sleeveless sports shirts and thus appears to be used for group identification rather than camouflage.
Japan
The Army of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces has been using a pattern similar to the Bundeswehr Flecktarn B (large) since 1985 in colors that are similar to those of the Chinese sports shirt. This pattern is four-colored light green, brown and black on a beige background.
United States
The United States of America did not enter World War II unprepared in December 1941 , but in the first few months of the Pacific War the army and marine infantry had to cope with some outdated or unsuitable equipment. During this first phase, developers in the US also started thinking about modern camouflage fabrics. The well-known plane tree pattern worn by the Waffen-SS since 1937 served as the starting point. The American development differed conceptually in the shape and distribution of the spots from the German model. In addition, the Americans worked with other colors, as this pattern was intended for use in the Pacific. Despite the elaborate five-color printing, the division of the US pattern is much simpler than the SS variants. In America, the idea of the reversible pattern was also adopted, which was first used in 1931 on the Reichswehr -Zeltbahn with the colored imprint 31. This means that the color of the pattern was different on the two sides of the fabric. The camouflage pattern, originally intended only for use in the Pacific, should theoretically be shown from the brown-beige side during landing operations on the beach and from the green-brown side during the jungle fight. In practice, however, this theory could not be held, especially since soldiers had reservations about camouflage fabrics. Historical photos show American soldiers in France with the US camouflage. In the European theater of war, the American reversal pattern was referred to as the "spring" and "autumn pattern" and was issued primarily to units of the 41st Motorized Infantry Battalion (2nd Motorized Division). However, there were so many fatal mix-ups with German troops that the US model was withdrawn from Europe as early as 1944. In the Asian region, however, this pattern was still worn beyond the Korean War until 1960.
After Canada, in 2004 the USA became the second country in the world to introduce a digital camouflage pattern , the MARPAT, with conflicts between the Canadian developers and the "copyists" of the USMC due to the undeniable similarity to the copyrighted Canadian CADPAT pattern. The latter claim to have developed the pattern completely independently. Both digital patterns are basically in the tradition of flecktarn.
Canada
The Canadian CADPAT, introduced in 2002, was the first modern digital camouflage pattern based on the tried and tested flecktarn pattern. In contrast to the American MARPAT pattern, CADPAT uses color variants that are coordinated with the flora of the Canadian forests. A desert variant also exists and is also protected by copyright under the name CADPAT.
Ukraine
Since 2005, special forces in Ukraine have been wearing a five-color pattern, also derived from the Bundeswehr Flecktarn B, for year-round use.
France
The French camouflage used by the Armée de terre française is the Camouflage Center Europe CCE.
Great Britain
The Disruptive Pattern Material DPM was the British Army's camouflage pattern. The multi-terrain pattern MTP replaces this.
See also
literature
- Wade Krawczyk, Peter V. Lukacs: Waffen SS Uniforms and Insignia. Crowood Press Ltd, Marlborough 2001, ISBN 1-86126-461-5 .
- Laurent Mirouze: Infantrymen of World War II. Karl-Heinz Dissberger, Düsseldorf 1990, ISBN 3-924753-27-X ( Europa-Militaria 2).
- Daniel Peterson: Waffen-SS Camouflage Uniforms & Post-War Derivatives. New Edition. The Crowood Press Ltd, Marlborough 2003, ISBN 1-86126-474-7 .
- Andrew Steven, Peter Amodio: Uniforms of the Waffen SS. In color. 2nd corrected edition. Karl-Heinz Dissberger, Düsseldorf 1992, ISBN 3-924753-44-X ( Europa-Militaria 6).
- Tim Newark, Quentin Newark, Dr JF Borsarello: Book of Camouflage Brassey's Ltd, London 1996, ISBN 1-85753-164-7
- Klaus-Ulrich Keubke and Manfred Kunz, Military Uniforms in the GDR 1949–1990 , Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn 2005, ISBN 3-8132-0835-4
- Michael Krauß, The camouflaged summer field service clothing of the GDR 1956–1990 , Volumes 1 to 4, Norderstedt 2016, ISBN 9783741282232 , ISBN 9783741289668 , ISBN 9783741290831 , ISBN 9783741290862
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Tim Newark, Quentin Newark, JF Borsarello: Brassey's Book of Camouflage , Brassey's, 2003 ISBN 1-85753-336-4 (English)
- ↑ Andrew Steven, Peter Amodio: Uniforms of the Waffen-SS in color , Verlag Karl-Heinz Dissberger, 2nd corrected edition, Düsseldorf 1992, ISBN 3-924753-44-X , p. 4
- ↑ Martin Pegler: Out of Nowhere , Osprey Publishing, 2004 ISBN 1-84176-854-5 , p. 202 (in English)
- ↑ Tim Newark, Quentin Newark, JF Borsarello: Brassey's Book of Camouflage , Brassey's, 2003 ISBN 1-85753-336-4 , p. 1943 (English)
- ^ Josef Henke: Personal Staff Reichsführer-SS , German Federal Archives, 1997 ISBN 3-89192-062-8 , p. 648; Employment of Otto Schick as a consultant for camouflage issues with the Waffen SS
- ↑ Michael D. Beaver, JF Borsarello: Camouflage Uniforms of the Waffen-SS , Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 1995 ISBN 1-84176-854-5 , p. 202 (in English)
- ↑ Martin Pegler: Out of Nowhere , Osprey Publishing, 2004 ISBN 1-84176-854-5 , p. 202 (in English)
- ^ Andrew Steven, Peter Amodio: Uniforms of the Waffen-SS in color , Verlag Karl-Heinz Dissberger, 2nd corrected edition, Düsseldorf 1992, ISBN 3-924753-44-X , p. 48
- ↑ https://www.outdoorfan.de/Tarnmuster#:~:text=%C3%96sterreich%20tarn%20%2F%20tarn%20austria%20Dieses%20Tarnmuster%20wurde,aus%20farbigen%20Tupfen%20auf%20komplett%20braunem % 20Reason% 20exists .
- ^ Andrew Steven, Peter Amodio: Uniforms of the Waffen-SS in color , Verlag Karl-Heinz Dissberger, 2nd corrected edition, Düsseldorf 1992, ISBN 3-924753-44-X , p. 4f.
- ^ Nigel Thomas: The German Army 1939-45 (5). Western Front 1943-45. Men-at-Arms, Volume 336. Osprey Military, Oxford 2000. ISBN 1-85532-797-X . P. 22.
- ^ Andrew Steven, Peter Amodio: Uniforms of the Waffen-SS in color , Verlag Karl-Heinz Dissberger, 2nd corrected edition, Düsseldorf 1992, ISBN 3-924753-44-X , p. 22
- ^ Andrew Steven, Peter Amodio: Uniforms of the Waffen-SS in color , Verlag Karl-Heinz Dissberger, 2nd corrected edition, Düsseldorf 1992, ISBN 3-924753-44-X , pp. 22-24
- ^ Andrew Steven, Peter Amodio: Uniforms of the Waffen-SS in color , Verlag Karl-Heinz Dissberger, 2nd corrected edition, Düsseldorf 1992, ISBN 3-924753-44-X , p. 5ff
- ^ Martin Windrow, Jeffrey Burn: The Waffen-SS , Osprey Publishing, 1992 ISBN 0-85045-425-5 , p. 3
- ↑ Johannes Denecke: Camouflage paints of the German army 1914 to today , Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn 1999, ISBN 3-7637-5990-5 , p. 89
- ↑ BMLVS - Communication Department - Section 3: Armed Forces - Uniforms and Badges - Uniforms since 1957. Accessed on January 17, 2018 .
- ↑ BMLVS - Communication Department - Section 3: Armed Forces - Uniforms and Badges - The Suit 03. Retrieved on January 17, 2018 .
- ↑ BMLVS - Communication Department - Unit 3: Service suit. Retrieved January 17, 2018 (German).
- ↑ BMLVS - Communication Department - Section 3: Hostage Liberation. Retrieved January 17, 2018 (German).
- ↑ BMLVS - Communication Department - Section 3: Combat Training. Retrieved January 17, 2018 (German).
- ^ BMLVS - Communication Department - Unit 3: Uniform new . In: bundesheer.at . ( bundesheer.at [accessed January 17, 2018]).
- ↑ World War II, Volume 3 - Total War: p. 285: US soldiers in US camouflage on a half-track vehicle receive water from a French. Manfred Pawlak Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Herrsching 1989, ISBN 3-88199-534-X