Finland

During the Winter War (Finnish: Talvisota, Swedish: Vinterkriget, Russian: Зимняя война) of 1939-1940, also known as the Russo-Finnish War, Finnish soldiers were often clad in a solid white snow suit, which seems to be the first instance of using camouflage by this nation. Finland did not develop its own distinctive camouflage pattern until around 1962, but retained with relatively few changes until 2003. Since then, a variegated pattern (often mistaken for a pixelated pattern) has been worn, with several variations for different types of terrain and climate.

Finnish Camouflage Patterns

• The Finnish M62 camouflage pattern entered service in the early 1960s, and continued to be worn into the latter part of the 1980s. A variety of color combinations have been documented; some sources suggest these were intentionally printed for deployment in a variety of seasonal conditions, although this has never been officially confirmed. A three-color pattern incorporating spot shapes in two darker colors on a lighter colored field, the pattern is nicknamed kurkkusalaatti (cucumber relish) in Finnish. Most of the M62 uniforms are reversible to solid white.

• Finnish M91 pattern

• Finnish Hellepuku K2004 (Uniform M2004) - the standard temperate camouflage pattern of the Finnish Defence Forces, also called M05 (although it was in fact introduced in service circa 2003)

• Finnish Helleasu K2004 (Uniform M2004) - the standard desert camouflage pattern of the Finnish Defense Forces.

Notes

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