Swedish Military Uniform

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The Swedish Armed Forces have an extensive history, during which it has undergone changes in both the equipment and military uniforms it uses.

Contents

The present combat uniforms used by the Swedish military uses the M90 camouflage pattern. The M90 uniform is the standard combat and field uniform worn by the military of Sweden. [1]

Combat uniforms

Earlier uniforms

Depiction of Swedish Army uniforms in 1910 Svenska armens uniform, 1910 ars modell, Nordisk familjebok.jpg
Depiction of Swedish Army uniforms in 1910
  • Swedish standard uniform model 1693.
  • Model m/23.
  • Model m/45.
  • Model m/70.
  • Model m/39 (wool).
  • Model m/58 (wool).
  • Model m/59 (cotton).

M90

The M90 uniform consists of a field jacket (fältjacka), field trousers (fältbyxa), a field cap (fältmössa), and a helmet cover (hjälmdok). [1] Other items issued as part of the field uniform include a green quarter-zip thermal shirt, a combat vest, balaclava, a white winter over-suit, and black leather combat boots.

These items are produced in the M90 pattern in three schemes, woodland, snow, and desert; although the snow camouflage is only issued to specific units. The desert camouflage has been in use with the Swedish ISAF contingent in Afghanistan since 2004.

Variants

A Swedish soldier wearing M90K desert camouflage Swedish forces in Afghanistan.jpg
A Swedish soldier wearing M90K desert camouflage

The basic field uniform has a number of variations beyond the standard field, desert and winter uniforms. [2]

  • 2002 ADYK - a special operations forces uniform
  • M90H (Helikopter) - a specialised uniform designed for helicopter crews, made from a fire-resistant material. M90H jackets reverse to orange for use as an emergency signaling panel in the event of a crash over land or sea.
  • M90K (Ökenkamo) - a camouflage uniform designed for use in desert environments. It has been on issue to troops of the Swedish ISAF contingent from 2004 onward. It contains the standard M90 splinter pattern, recoloured for use in a desert environment. M90K has earth brown, light green and medium gray splinters on a sand-coloured background.
  • M90L (Lätt/Light) - a uniform in the same pattern as the original M90, made in a lighter-weight material for personnel operating in climates warmer than Sweden.
  • M90P (Pansar) - a special uniform for armoured units and tank regiments (Pansarregemente). This uniform has more pockets, has added padding to protect against the sharp corners in armoured vehicles, and is fireproof. [3]
  • M90T (Tropical) - a newer uniform designed to replace M90L uniforms, made from a lightweight ripstop cotton material. It is similar in construction to the M90K desert uniform.

Related Research Articles

Desert Battle Dress Uniform

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Battle Dress Uniform Fatigues used by the US Armed Forces from early 1980s to mid-2000s

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Flight suit

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Combat uniform Military uniform

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Disruptive Pattern Material

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U.S. Army M-1943 Uniform

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Denison smock

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SPECTRA helmet

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M90 (camouflage)

M90 camouflage is the camouflage pattern for the uniform system 90, used by the Swedish Armed Forces. The pattern consists of hard lined geometric shapes, aiming to create a camouflage pattern effective in the temperate forests and plains of Sweden. It is affectionately known among Swedish soldiers as lövhögen, or "the leaf pile." In addition to the standard pattern, which was designed with Swedish forests in mind, desert and jungle variants were later developed for international missions.

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ERDL pattern

The ERDL pattern, also known as the Leaf pattern, is a camouflage pattern developed by the United States Army at its Engineer Research & Development Laboratories (ERDL) in 1948. It was not used until the Vietnam War, when it was issued to elite reconnaissance and special operations units beginning early 1967.

Patrol cap

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Splittertarnmuster

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Uniforms of the Luftwaffe (1935–1945)

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<i>M84 camouflage pattern</i>

The M/84 camouflage pattern, is the former camouflage pattern of the Danish military. The M/84 is a derivative of the Flecktarn B pattern produced by the German firm Marquardt & Schulz. Using the same shapes and pattern, the number of colours was changed from 5 to 3 – choosing olive green, light green and black to better match the colouration of the Danish woodland environment.

German World War II camouflage patterns Military camouflage designs

German World War II camouflage patterns formed a family of disruptively patterned military camouflage designs for clothing, used and in the main designed during the Second World War. The first pattern, Splittertarnmuster, was designed in 1931 and was initially intended for Zeltbahn shelter halves. The clothing patterns developed from it combined a pattern of interlocking irregular green, brown, and buff polygons with vertical "rain" streaks. Later patterns, all said to have been designed for the Waffen-SS by Johann Georg Otto Schick, evolved into more leaf-like forms with rounded dots or irregular shapes. Camouflage smocks were designed to be reversible, providing camouflage for two seasons, whether summer and autumn, or summer and winter (snow). Distribution was limited to the Waffen-SS, ostensibly because of a patent, though variants were used by other units, including the Luftwaffe. Production was limited by shortage of materials, especially of high quality waterproof cotton duck.

References

  1. 1 2 INSTRUKTION FÖR FÖRSVARSMAKTEN UNIFORMSBESTÄMMELSER 2009 v 1.2 (in Swedish). Sweden. 2009.
  2. "Swedish M/90 and M/90K camouflage". Strike – Hold!. April 11, 2009.
  3. "Fältuniform 90 pansar".

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