Egypt

Arab Republic of Egypt

Egyptian Camouflage Patterns

• One of the earliest camouflage patterns produced in Egypt is frequently called the "rocks" pattern (often to discern it from the "sand" pattern), which is believed to have emerged in 1956. The design can be seen to derive from the German WW2 Planetree pattern (hence is sometimes called Egyptian Plane Tree), although certainly the Egyptian version is much more crude. Variability within production runs is considerable, even more so when factoring in that the pattern remained in production well into the 1990s period. The "rocks" pattern is nearly always printed on one side of a reversible fabric, with a two-color desert "sand" pattern (see below) on the other side. This practice continued into the later years of its production, but comtemporary uniforms were no longer designed to be worn reversibly; they were either sewn together with the "rocks" or the "desert" side out. This pattern is generally associated only with Airborne and Commando units. Egyptian manufacturers have exported this pattern to Sudan, Somalia, Niger, Libya, and Yemen, among others. Seen below are three variations of the pattern, giving a cross-section of tremendous variability between early and late production.

• Another very early pattern, also dating to 1956, is the "oakleaf" camouflage. This design is unquestionably copied from the German WW2 Waffen SS Beringt-Eichenlaubmuster (ringed oakleaf), although again the printing is much more crude than the original. It appears this design, reversing to the "sand" pattern, was primarily printed on lightweight canvas tents and heavierweight shelters, although there is evidence to show that some uniforms were also produced.

• The reverse side of both the "rocks" and "oakleaf" patterns is the two-color desert or "sand" camouflage pattern. Incorporating dark brown spots on a sandy background, the variability of this pattern is a bit more consistent than the "rocks" design. Also associated with elite units of the Egyptian Army.

• Introduced in the mid-1980s was a completely unique desert pattern, often nicknamed "scrambled eggs." The earliest variation has a much denser concentration of colorful shapes and is therefore generally termed "dense desert" pattern. Due to the limited number of surviving examples, it is theorized this dense version was fairly short-lived.

• The Egyptian desert (scrambled eggs) pattern was modified in the later part of the 1990s, giving it a much more sparse concentration of overprinted shapes. For this reason it is generally termed "sparse desert" pattern. As with the previously produced Egyptian camouflage patterns, there seems to be considerable variability both to the dye lots and the basic fabric color (background) employed when printing this design. At least four versions are known, with either sand/tan, pale green, pale blue, or medium grey background colors. Seen below are three of these variations, although it is certainly possible that others exist. Early versions of this camouflage initially appearing during the First Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm), but this continues to be a standard issue pattern for this nation. It has been exported and used by Somalia and Sudan.

• Another variation of the above "sparse desert" pattern contains no green elements at all. This version was certainly worn by Egyptian Forces during the First Gulf War, but surviving examples suggest it was a short-lived variation.

• Possibly influenced by similar patterns worn in Libya and Syria, the Egyptians introduced a "vertical stripe" pattern in the early 1990s. The design incorporates dense vertical brown and dark green stripes on a pale green background, although several variations have been documented. There seems to be only limited distribution of this design, it being used by the Presidential Guard and Military Police.

• Appearing at some point in the 1990s was an Egyptian copy of the USA m81 woodland pattern. The Egyptian version features considerably darker coloration overall, and less definition between the colors employed. Apparently not a general purpose pattern, it appears to be generally worn by Egyptian military personnel serving abroad in temperate regions (as with UN missions) or as visiting foreign students.

• Another copy pattern produced by Egypt is the USA-designed six-color desert ("chocolate chip"). The locally-produced copy incorporates orange, tan & russet waves over a sandy background, with black & white "spots" and has been worn by Egyptian military personnel serving in Afghanistan and the Western Sahara, as well as elsewhere.

[photo needed]

Photographs of Egyptian Military Personnel

• Egyptian UN officer wearing the "sparse desert" uniform, 1992.