Switzerland

Switzerland (or the Swiss Confederation) has maintained a state of neutrality since the 19th century. The Swiss Armed Forces (German: Schweizer Armee, French: Armée Suisse, Italian: Esercito Svizzero) have therefore not been involved in combat operations for nearly two-hundred years, but do participate in international peacekeeping operations through involvement in the United Nations (UN).

Swiss camouflage designs have largely been influenced by those of WW2 Germany, although modified and given a national flavor.

Swiss camouflage patterns

• The earliest camouflage pattern adopted by the Swiss Army was the Zelteinheiten 1901 pattern. This was introduced in 1938, and is a splinter design resembling the German WW2 Wehrmacht splittertarn pattern. In service from 1938 until around 1955, the pattern was only printed on rectangular shelter halves and never as a field uniform. The shelters are fully reversible, with one side was overprinted with small yellow dots.

• Introduced around 1944 for use on the M1918 steel helmet, a reversible camouflage pattern having a "splinter" style design printed on one side, and a muted or airbrushed type pattern on the other. The "splinter" side features brown, mauve, moss green & grey-brown splinter shapes with an overprint of thick dark grey rain straits. On the reverse side is a pattern that may have been derived from German WW2 era sumpfmuster (marsh) pattern, although it lacks most of the distinguishing features of the wartime print. The Swiss version has airbrushed shapes in dark green, reddish-tan & ochre with few distinctive edges. These helmet covers were used throughout the 1950s and possibly later. Although designed for the M1918 helmet, they can be and were fitted to the paratrooper helmet as well.

• First seen in 1957, the Swiss Leibermuster pattern is modeled after the the German WW2 Leibermuster camouflage design of the Waffen SS. Introduced around 1955-1957, it was in 1992 replaced by the TAZ 90 pattern. Used for shelter halves and the TAZ57 uniform and later the TAZ83 (TAZ is the abbreviation of "Tarnanzug" - Camouflage uniform - in German, called Tenue d'assaut (TASS) in French. The word Kampftenue is also used in German). There is several variations of the colours and the shapes. A couple is show below. The pattern is often called Alpentarn or Alpenflage by collectors

• The TAZ 90 (M92). Introduced in 1990 as a replacement of the Swiss Leibermuster. The shapes of the pattern are the same, but the colours have been changed - the colours for this pattern was chosen by the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule in Zürich to suit the nature in Switzerland.

• There is also a desert version of the TAZ 90 - introduced around 2008 and used by Swiss troops serving abroad. This pattern is nicknamed "Südtarn" ("southern camouflage")

[needs photo]

Swíss uniforms and equipment

• A Zelteinheiten 1901 shelter half showing one side of the pattern