Canada

Canada

Canada's first military usage of camouflage clothing occurred during World War Two. Men of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion (attached to the British 6th Airborne Division) wore British-made Denison smocks in a unique, hand-painted "brushstroke" camouflage pattern that later spawned a large branch of derivative patterns that are still used today. Canadian paratroopers continued to wear Denison smocks for several years after the war, but they were phased out after wartime stocks were depleted and the Canadians never replaced them with an indigenously-produced version. Indeed, aside from solid white outer clothing, worn by members of the Special Service Force and other Canadian military personnel operating in arctic or snow-covered regions, the Canadian Armed Forces did not utilize any camouflage uniforms at all until the mid-1970s, instead issuing solid-colored combat and work uniforms in olive drab (Canadian Average Green). In 1975, the Canadian Airborne Regiment was issued its first camouflage garment in nearly twenty-five years, a DPM pattern camouflage airborne smock. Although the Regiment experimented with other items, such as special windproof trousers, the DPM smock remained the only item of issue camouflaged clothing worn by the Regiment until its disbandment in 1995. Canadian Forces briefly adopted a bizarre Garrison Jacket in 1989, printed in a dark woodland camouflage pattern, but it was short-lived and never intended for practical combat usage. The standard combat uniform remained olive green for the next quarter century, with a tan version for desert deployments seeing very brief trials in the mid-1990s. Then, in 2001, after several months of research and experimentation, for the first time in her history, Canada's Armed Forces adopted its very own camouflage pattern, a computer-designed scheme incorporating a pixelated pattern known as CADPAT (TW). This pattern was shortly thereafter complemented by its desert counterpart, CADPAT (AR), and a snow/arctic version, CADPAT (WA).

Canadian Camouflage Patterns

• Canadian airborne units during the Second World War were issued British brushstroke camouflage pattern Denison smocks, which continued to be worn by airborne elements into the 1950s. After wartime stocks were depleted, however, they were not replenished.

• Circa 1975, the Canadian Airborne Regiment began to issue its own Canadian Airborne camouflage parachutist smock printed in a distinctive variation of the British DPM pattern. Canadian DPM differs from that of the original British design in that it employs an inverse ratio of green to brown, the Canadian version having larger areas of the latter. The majority of these smocks were produced by the Peerless Garments Ltd company, whose design is seen below. Interestingly, the Canadian Airborne smock was never intended to be worn as a combat garment, but instead as part of the garrison dress and as a working uniform worn during parachute jumps, etc. For field exercises and during deployments, Canadian airborne personnel wore the standard olive drab (Average Green) uniform of the Canadian Armed Forces. A limited production run of experimental trousers for airborne personnel were also produced, but never adopted officially by the Regiment. Still later, in the 1980s, a specialized operational uniform for the Emergency Response Teams (ERTs) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) was produced in the same camouflage design, most likely utilizing overstock/surplus fabric from the original DND contract.

• The Canadian DPM pattern is observed to have changed slightly on late 1980s production parachutist smocks (particularly those produced by Ambridge & Thompson Inc Ltd). Although the color ratio remained the same, the pattern was enlarged from the earlier version by about 30%. As well, the specific colors appear darker than those produced earlier.

• Introduced in 1989, the Canadian Garrison Dress Land Forces (LF) jacket was printed in this woodland-type camouflage pattern. As with the Airborne parachutist smock, the garment was never intended to be worn as a combat garment, but instead as part of the Garrison dress ensemble, which included rifle green trousers, a pale green collared shirt, and a garrison belt. Worn from 1989 to 1994, the jacket was impractical, uncomfortable and universally disliked by all ranks.

• Canadian Temperate Weight digital camouflage pattern, or CADPAT (TW) was first introduced in 1996, and employed as the standard combat uniform for all Canadian Forces until 2024. Within common parlance among some soldiers the pattern is often called "relish."

• Canadian Arid Region digital camouflage pattern, or CADPAT (AR) was introduced in 2002, and has been employed by Canadian Forces serving in Afghanistan and other desert regions. It was announced in 2021 the this pattern, as well as the CADPAT (TW) would soon be replaced by a new design, which was finally implemented beginning in February 2024.

• A full ensemble of arctic gear is also produced for use in snowy conditions, called Canadian Winter/Arctic pattern or CADPAT (WA).

• The Royal Canadian Army Cadets (RCAC) League have endorsed the wearing of a Canadian Forces-style uniform in USMC MARPAT style camouflage in recent years.

• Members of the Canadian Special Operations Regiment (CSOR; Régiment d'opérations spéciales du Canada) operating in support of Iraqi Kurds have been observed wearing privately procured uniforms in Multicam pattern camouflage.

• Announced early in 2021, the Canadian Department of National Defense revealed that it would replace CADPAT-TW with a new pixelated camouflage pattern designated CADPAT-MT (Canadian Disruptive Pattern Multi-Terrain). Trialed at Petawawa in 2019 using a modified color palette (having more brown), the official MT pattern will incorporate five colors: dark olive green, khaki, sand, and light brown, with trace elements of black. The pattern was developed with the assistance of Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), which relied on highly specialized software during the development process. Initial issue of the Modernized Combat Uniform (MCU) in CADPAT-MT began in February 2024 and is scheduled to take approximately twenty-four months to completely outfit the Canadian Armed Forces. As with other forms of CADPAT, the Department of National Defence (DND) owns the copyright and retains intellectual property rights to CADPAT-MT, making issue uniforms controlled items.

Canadian Trial/Test Patterns

The Canadian Ministry of Defence tested several camouflage designs in the 1970s with the idea of adopting one for universal issue to Canadian Forces. Some of these test patterns were DPM variants, while others ventured outside that family of patterns into more experimental realms. Among the units that reputedly evaluated the various camouflage patterns, 1 RCR appears to have done a trial circa 1980-81, whilst 4 Brigade also ran some tests while deployed to Germany in the 1982-83 time frame.

• Circa 1974-75, the Canadian government decided to move forward with a modified DPM pattern and significant numbers of uniforms were produced. The design was never officially adopted or issued, possibly due to the high flammability of the fabric itself, which melted and stuck to clothing or skin when exposed to flame. Surplus uniforms did appear on the market in Canada and were permitted for wear by Royal Canadian Army Cadets. Large quantities of surplus stock were also sold to the government of Tanzania, which at the time had a strong relationship with the Canadian armed forces.

• Another DPM variation is seen here, with a different color scheme. This pattern apparently never got further than the trial stage.

• One of two unusual dot-based camouflage designs tested by the Canadian government, this version has the spots densely grouped and overlapping one another while retaining the individual circular shapes. The color scheme is similar to that of the previous DPM pattern.

• A second dot-based camouflage pattern is seen here, having smaller concentrations and some circular shapes melding together to form clumps. This design has some similarities to the German Bundeswehr flecktarn pattern, although it is unknown whether any collaboration between the German and Canadian developers took place.

• In September, 2019, Canadian Forces personnel in Petawawa tested a four-color pixelated camouflage design known only as "Prototype J." The pattern was under consideration for replacing CADPAT-TW, which had been in use since the early 2000s. Although rejected, a five-color version known as CADPAT-MT was officially announced as the new design for CF in 2021.

Use of Foreign Camouflage by Canadian Forces

• The Canadian Forces officially adopted the US M1 steel helmet beginning in 1960, although the helmet had seen limited use with some Canadian personnel since the Second World War, alongside the steel Brodie and the British Mk III "Turtle" helmet. The earliest camouflage covers appear to have been unit- or field-made from a variety of materials, including various weaves of netting with added scrim, purpose-made Canadian two-tone camouflage nets, and various patterns of "frogskin" (Duck hunter) camouflage fabric covers cannibalized from parachute shrouds, or cut from privately obtained commercial fabrics. Some covers even appear to have been hand-painted on solid colored khaki or olive drab fabric.

By the end of the 1960s Canada was able to obtain a quantity of factory-made camouflage helmet covers from the United States, of the same type then worn by American forces in Vietnam. The earliest of these factory-made camouflage covers worn by the CF was the reversible design with "USMC Standard" (aka "vine leaf" or "wine leaf" in shades of green and brown on one side, and the "Mitchell" (aka "clouds") design in shades of brown and tan on the opposite side. Photographs show Canadians wearing both sides of the cover out, probably depending on the unit and where it was operating at the time. The use of a pure white cover was also worn for exercises or operations in winter and/or heavy snow conditions, along with Canadian Forces issued over-whites.

• Beginning in the early 1970s, US camouflage helmet covers in the "transitional ERDL" or "leaf" pattern camouflage began to enter service with Canadian units for the M1 helmet. Although the older reversible covers continued to be worn by some units, greater use of the ERDL pattern would be seen throughout the 1980s.

• By the late 1980s, the camouflage cover for the M1 helmet would gradually shift over to the American m81 woodland pattern design, as stocks became available. This camouflage would remain in use for the remainder of the M1 helmet's service with Canadian forces, as well as with the American PASGT helmets worn by Canadians deployed overeas in the 1990s. With the adoption of the CG634 ballistic helmet in 1997, use of woodland camouflage helmet covers ceased.

• Certain elements of Canadian Forces have worn British camouflage since the end of the Second World War. Most notably, the Recce Platoons attached to several Canadian Infantry Regiments have been documented wearing DPM pattern camouflage from the late 1970s and throughout much of the 1980s. Most frequently limited to DPM smocks, use may have been left up to the individual soldier as some photographs suggest caps and even trousers were worn occasionally. While a specific source for these uniforms is uncertain, many photographs indicate multiple generations of DPM (from 1968 Pattern to Soldier 95) have been worn in the same unit by different personnel, strongly suggesting it is likely they were obtained through private channels such as international military surplus dealers, or from stocks surplused by the British government. In any event, a wide range of DPM styles has been worn by Recce units attached to the PPCLI, Royal Canadian Regiment, Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, and the Royal Westminster Regiment, among others. It would appear this use of British temperate DPM ceased around 1990.

• Some Canadian personnel attached to the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKOM) from 1991 to 1993 were observed wearing British desert DPM pattern camouflage uniforms, most likely obtained directly from their British counterparts.