Field gray

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under field gray (disambiguation) .

Field gray
Components
RGB ( r , g , b )	(77, 93, 83)
Hexadecimal triplet	4D5D53
CMYK ( c , m , y , k )	(72%, 46%, 58%, 30%)
HSL ( h , s , l )	(142 °, 17%, 36%)

Field gray was the color designation for the uniforms of the German army from the early 20th century to 1945 and then until 1990. This color was chosen for the new German field uniform that was acquired from 1907 but was kept secret until the mobilization in 1914 and was only used from then on German troops moved into the First World War .

In September 1915 the introduction of a “field gray peace uniform” (with colored lapels, epaulettes and collars) was decreed for the Prussian Army . The other three armies quickly followed suit, most recently in Bavaria in April 1916. This marked the end of colorful army uniforms in the army of the German Empire .

Conceptual

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

Proof that the uniforms of the NVA are called "field gray"?

Colloquially, field gray today stands for the color of German uniforms par excellence, especially for the period of the First and Second World Wars , but also for the National People's Army (here under the name Stone Gray ) and partly also for the Bundeswehr . In 1923 the Swedish armed forces introduced a field-gray uniform based on the German model.

It is not taken into account that the colors generally referred to as field gray in uniforms of the past and those of the present varied considerably:

• During the First World War, the German field gray was nuanced to a matt gray-green that corresponded to RAL color 7009. In the late Reichswehr and even more so in the Wehrmacht , the green component dominated and field gray became a light gray-green.
• The field gray of the NVA again corresponded more to the field gray of the empire and was referred to as stone gray .
• On the other hand, the service uniforms of the Army of the Bundeswehr usually achieve a light gray, and for privately purchased uniform parts a darker anthracite . In addition, there were and are sometimes strong deviations in the color of the uniforms among each other as well as in combat helmets and equipment.

Metaphorically , the terms field gray and field gray stand for the German military in the period from 1914 to 1945. Meanwhile, the vernacular usually describes the GDR military as ash or flag , the Bundeswehr as the federal government . Accordingly, there are the expressions to the ashes (to the flag) must or to the federal government . In this context, field gray does not stand for color, but is used as a (judgmental) epithet .

Field gray levels

The table shows some gradations of the field gray according to RAL colors :

number	Color sample	CIELAB L *	CIELAB a *	CIELAB b *	Surname	description
# 5D5D3D ( HTML code )					Field gray	Basic color " field gray " of the Reichsheeres and the Reichswehr 1907–1935
# 4D5D53 field gray					Field gray	Basic color of the Wehrmacht 1937–1945
# 555548 stone gray					Stone gray	Basic color of the National People's Army of the GDR 1956–1989
RAL 7000		58.32	- 03.14	- 04.71	Squirrel gray	Above water camouflage paint of the German Navy
RAL 7008		45.91	03.34	17.92	Khaki gray	Original name: Graugrün (en: Gray green)
RAL 7009		43.19	- 02.43	03.87	Green grey	1932 to 1939/1940: RAL 2; Original name: Feldgrau Nr.2 (en: Field gray Nr.2)
RAL 7013		39.21	00.59	06.33	Brownish gray	Color of the Austrian Armed Forces , textile color "stone gray-olive" (colloquially "NATO-Olive") of the German Armed Forces (former Moleskin combat suit )
RAL 7016		33.84	- 01.33	- 02.83	Anthracite gray	1932 to 1939/1940: RAL 4, [3] Users: Reichswehr, Wehrmacht, Reichsmarine , Kriegsmarine
RAL 7021		30.65	- 00.43	- 01.22	Black-gray	1932 to 1939/1940: RAL 46, [3] Users: German Red Cross, Reichswehr, Wehrmacht
RAL 7037		30.65	- 00.43	- 01.22	Dusty gray	The "light gray" of the Army Aviation Troops (en: light gray) since 1956

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Color sample according to RAL7009 ( Memento of the original from March 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , www.carparts-koeln.de 
2. ^ Highest Cabinet Order of Sr. Maj. The Emperor and King of September 21, 1915 (No. 735), regarding changes to the uniforms of officers and men
3. ^ Excerpt from the "Zeitschrift für Heereskunde", issue 412
4. ↑ ^{a b Examples of} use ( memento of the original from October 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in wortschatz.uni-leipzig.de (accessed June 29, 2006)  

Web links

Wiktionary: Feldgrauer  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

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