Zaire - Revision history

Admin1 at 16:09, 3 October 2025

2025-10-03T16:09:10Z

Admin1: /* Zairean Camouflage Patterns */

2013-02-04T01:34:58Z

Zairean Camouflage Patterns

Admin1: /* Zairean Camouflage Patterns */

2013-02-04T01:30:00Z

Zairean Camouflage Patterns

Admin1: /* Zairean Camouflage Patterns */

2011-10-29T21:24:26Z

Zairean Camouflage Patterns

Admin1 at 17:48, 28 March 2011

2011-03-28T17:48:25Z

Admin1: /* Zairean Camouflage Patterns */

2011-03-17T00:09:12Z

Zairean Camouflage Patterns

Admin1: /* Zairean Camouflage Patterns */

2011-03-17T00:08:45Z

Zairean Camouflage Patterns

Admin1: /* Zairean Camouflage Patterns */

2011-03-17T00:06:24Z

Zairean Camouflage Patterns

Admin1 at 18:05, 25 January 2011

2011-01-25T18:05:30Z

Admin1 at 18:02, 25 January 2011

2011-01-25T18:02:27Z

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 [[File:zaire7.jpg|200px]]
-* Another interesting pattern from this period was a [[leaf]] design with a unique color scheme,  having smaller black shapes over larger reddish brown & olive green organic areas on a yellowish base. Most references attribute this pattern's use to the 41st Commando Brigade (Kisangani).
+* Another interesting pattern from this period was a [[leaf]] design with a unique color scheme,  having smaller black shapes over larger reddish brown & olive green organic areas on a yellowish base. The design appears to be based on M-1948 ERDL, but is not a precise match. Most references attribute this pattern's use to the 41st Commando Brigade (Kisangani), although there are photographs showing members of the Presidential Guard wearing it as well.
 [[File:zaire5.jpg|200px]]

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 [[File:zaire5.jpg|200px]]
-* Although not well-documented, at least some use of French [[lizard]] pattern camouflage was seen in the FAZ.
+* Some use of the French [[lizard]] pattern camouflage was also seen in the FAZ, particularly among airborne units. Although many of the early uniforms were no doubt obtained from surplus French stocks, later models were reproduced faithfully by Asian factories on contact to the Zairean government.
 [[File:zaire6.jpg|200px]]
 [[File:gabon1.jpg|200px]]
-* Obtained through sources in [[Angola]] during the First Congo War (and possibly earlier), ex-[[Portugal|Portuguese]] m63 vertical [[lizard]] pattern camouflage is known to have been worn by some units, in particular the Parachute Brigades.
+* Presumably obtained through sources in [[Angola]] during the First Congo War (and possibly earlier), ex-[[Portugal|Portuguese]] m63 vertical [[lizard]] pattern camouflage is known to have been worn by some units, in particular the early Parachute Brigade and some commando units.
 [[File:portugal2.jpg|200px]]

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 [[File:belgium4.jpg|200px]]
-* One of the more interesting camouflage designs to come out of the 1970s period in Africa was the "leopard spot" design. Although also produced for [[Chad]] and [[Libya]], Zaire had its own version that incorporated more browns and had an overall darker composition. This camouflage design has been particularly associated with the Kamanyola Division, and original versions are believed to have been produced in Belgium. This design would continue to be worn sporadically well into the 1990s.
+* One of the more interesting camouflage designs to come out of the 1970s period in Africa was the "leopard spot" design. Although also produced for [[Chad]] and [[Libya]], Zaire had its own version that incorporated more browns and had an overall darker composition. This camouflage design has been particularly associated with the Kamanyola Division, and with various foreign units who went through commando training at the ''Centre d'Entrainement Commando'' at Kota Koli. Original versions of the design were reputedly produced in Belgium, but later uniforms were most certainly imported from Asian factories. This design would continue to be worn sporadically well into the 1990s.
 [[File:zaire3.jpg|200px]]
 [[File:zaire4.jpg|200px]]
-* Borrowing heavily from the original jigsaw design of Belgium, Zaire also produced its own version of the camouflage having black squiggles over green & dark brown organic shapes, on a pale green background. The pale green background and darker green organic shapes distinguish it from the Belgian versions.
+* Borrowing heavily from the original [[jigsaw]] design of Belgium, Zaire also fielded its own version of the camouflage having black squiggles over green & dark brown organic shapes, on a pale green background. The pale green background and darker green organic shapes distinguish it from the Belgian versions.
 [[File:zaire1.jpg|200px]]

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 [[File:zaire1.jpg|200px]]
 [[File:zaire2.jpg|200px]]
 * Another interesting pattern from this period was a [[leaf]] design with a unique color scheme,  having smaller black shapes over larger reddish brown & olive green organic areas on a yellowish base. Most references attribute this pattern's use to the 41st Commando Brigade (Kisangani).

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 http://camopedia.org/image/flag/zaire.gif
 Between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997 the nation presently known as the [[Democratic Republic of Congo]] was the Republic of Zaire. Prior to 1960, it was a European colony known as Belgian Congo, but a series of regime changes after 1960 would lead to a rapid series of name changes for the nation, with Congo-Leopoldville, Congo, Republic of ''the'' Congo, and between 1965 and 1971, the Democratic Republic of Congo. A coup d'etat in 1965 brought Joseph-Désiré Mobutu to power, and in 1971 he changed the name of the country to the Republic of Zaire, from the Kongo word ''nzere'' or ''nzadi,'' meaning "the river that swallows all rivers."
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 The Armed Forces of Zaire were known as the ''Forces Armées Zaïrois'' (FAZ) and consisted of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and several paramilitary organizations. In addition to a Special Presidential Division, the Army's ground forces consisted of the Kamanyola Division, 31st and 32nd Parachute Brigades, the 41st Commando Brigade (Kisangani), three Infantry Brigades, and an Armored Brigade. Zaire would produce some interesting and distinctive camouflage patterns during its tenure, but would also incorporate patterns from the old Belgian & French colonial periods.
 == Zairean Camouflage Patterns ==

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 == Zairean Camouflage Patterns ==
-* As an ex-Belgian colony, Zairean forces did make limited use of [[Belgium|Belgian]] camouflage stocks that were left in country after the European power vacated. Most common were the [[brushtroke]] designs, worn especially during the early years of independence from Belgium. However, some examples of the Belgian [[puzzle|jigsaw]] pattern have also been documented.
+* As an ex-Belgian colony, Zairean forces did make limited use of [[Belgium|Belgian]] camouflage stocks that were left in country after the European power vacated. Most common were the [[brushstroke]] designs, worn especially during the early years of independence from Belgium. However, some examples of the Belgian [[puzzle|jigsaw]] pattern have also been documented.
 [[File:belgium2.jpg|200px]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:06, 17 March 2011
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	* Although not well-documented, at least some use of French [[lizard]] pattern camouflage was seen in the FAZ.		* Although not well-documented, at least some use of French [[lizard]] pattern camouflage was seen in the FAZ.

		+	[[File:zaire6.jpg\|200px]]
	[[File:iraq13.jpg\|200px]]		[[File:iraq13.jpg\|200px]]

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 In the 1990s, demands for democratic reform that had been sweeping across Africa for years began to receive greater popular support in Zaire. Out of the early oppositionist movement had arisen rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila, who in November 1996 mounted an insurrection against the Mobutu government that has come to be known as the First Congo War. Caught up in the ethnic genocide that was happening in [[Rwanda]] at the time, the rebellion sprang out of the eastern region of Zaire and gradually spread across the rest of the nation. Under Kabila's leadership, the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL), which combined local Zairean militias with Rwandan Tutsis (known as Banyamulenge), was the primary military force driving the rebellion, although considerable assistance was received from Rwanda and Angola (with some aid from Uganda and Burundi also). Zairean forces would in turn receive assistance from Angolan UNITA as well as the Army for the Liberation of Rwanda, but by May 1997 the battle to save Zaire was obviously lost. Mobutu went into exile in Morocco, and on September 7, 1997 Kabila proclaimed himself president (on the same day Mobutu died, ironically). Following this, the nation reverted its name back to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
-The Armed Forces of Zaire were known as the ''Forces Armées Zaïrois'' (FAZ) and consisted of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and several paramilitary organizations. In addition to a Special Presidential Division, the Army's ground forces consisted of the Kamanyola Division, 31st and 32nd Parachute Brigades, the 41st Commando Brigade (Kisangani), three Infantry Brigades, and an Armored Brigade. Zaire would produce some interesting and distinctive camouflage patterns during its tenure, but would also incorporate patterns from the old Belgian colonial period.
+The Armed Forces of Zaire were known as the ''Forces Armées Zaïrois'' (FAZ) and consisted of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and several paramilitary organizations. In addition to a Special Presidential Division, the Army's ground forces consisted of the Kamanyola Division, 31st and 32nd Parachute Brigades, the 41st Commando Brigade (Kisangani), three Infantry Brigades, and an Armored Brigade. Zaire would produce some interesting and distinctive camouflage patterns during its tenure, but would also incorporate patterns from the old Belgian & French colonial periods.
 == Zairean Camouflage Patterns ==