USA

US Camouflage Patterns

The first widespread use of camouflage by American military forces began in 1942. Prior to this point, the US Army Corps of Engineers had been engaged in developing camouflage for military applications as early as 1940. Nevertheless, the process of its introduction into the US supply system was rushed, brought about by an urgent request in July of 1942 by General D. MacArthur for production of 150,000 jungle camouflage uniforms for use in the Pacific Theater. The pattern chosen, a green spot pattern reversing to a tan variation, saw widespread distribution to US military forces beginning in August of that year. Nicknamed “frogskin” by many GIs (the more common moniker “duck hunter” came considerably later, after variations of the pattern were produced for the commercial hunting market by various US retailers), the pattern consists of a five color green dominant “jungle” camouflage pattern printed on one side, with a three color brown dominant “beach” pattern printed on the opposite side. Produced in a variety of uniform styles as well as some articles of field equipment, the pattern was most widely utilized by the USMC in the Pacific Theater (although it did see very limited usage by the US Army operating in the ETO).

A variant of the standard M1942 reversible spot pattern camouflage is seen here, printed on water-repellent fabric and constructed as a poncho/shelter half. As with the jungle pattern clothing, the poncho is reversible from a green dominant to a brown dominant scheme.

US Army trials of 1953 produced two additional camouflage patterns that were adopted for limited use by military personnel. Both patterns saw widespread distribution only as a reversible shelter half (1953) and reversible helmet cover (1959), with one pattern printed on each side. The USMC standard or “wine leaf” pattern, consists of large overlapping dark green, lime green & ochre leaf shapes with brown twigs on a pale green background.

The USMC Mitchell or “clouds” pattern, consists of overlapping dark brown, russet, beige, light brown & ochre "cloud" shapes on a tan background.

In 1948, the US Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory (ERDL) designed a general purpose jungle camouflage consisting of mid-brown & grass green organic shapes with black "branches" on a lime green background. This pattern, often copied and still in usage today by other nations, is generally referred to as the ERDL pattern. Initially shelved, the pattern was tested again by the Army between 1963 and 1967, and began seeing limited service with special military units deployed to Vietnam beginning in 1968. It was highly favored by the US Marines in Vietnam, and was also obtained in limited quantities by Australian and New Zealand special forces deployed there. The original ERDL pattern is predominantly green and is often considered a "lowlands" pattern, referring to its suitability for application as camouflage in the lush, lowland regions of Southest Asia.

Also released in 1968 was a predominantly brown variation of the ERDL pattern, consisting of mid-brown & grass green (the ratio being reversed from the green dominant) organic shapes with black "branches" on a khaki-tan background. This version is often considered a "highlands" pattern, referring to its suitability for application as camouflage in the rocky, mountainous regions of Southeast Asia.

The original slant-pocket M1967 model jungle uniforms were only sanctioned for use by US military personnel deployed to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Once the war ended, the original ERDL uniforms saw only scattered, unofficial usage by the US Marine Corps and US special operations community. Beginning in 1979, however, the DOD again reconsidered camouflage uniforms for issue to military personnel, and designed the Hot Weather Uniform (in a slightly varied cut from the Vietnam era jungle uniform) utilizing surplus stocks of green and brown dominant ERDL camouflage. Subsequent textile production for this uniform saw a distinctive color change from the Vietnam era ERDL patterns, creating what has come to be known among some historians as "transitional ERDL" or "ERDL 2nd generation." This pattern features mid-brown & grass green organic shapes with black "branches" on an light olive green background. This 2nd Generation ERDL uniform was primarily distributed to members of the Rapid Deployment Force and the USMC (along with some special operations personnel), but was officially only in production from 1979 to 1981.