Urban camouflage

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British Army Land-Rover in Berlin camouflage, developed during the Cold War Berlin camo Landie (cropped).jpg
British Army Land-Rover in Berlin camouflage, developed during the Cold War

Urban camouflage is the use of camouflage patterns chosen to make soldiers and equipment harder to see in built-up areas, places such as cities and industrial parks, during urban warfare. [1] [2]

Contents

Several armed forces have developed urban camouflage patterns. Some are in use with paramilitary forces.

History

Urban camouflage has rarely been used by armed forces in built up environments and mostly for limited trials. During the Cold War, the British Army used vehicles painted in the "Berlin camouflage" urban pattern. [3] The scheme was developed by Major Clendon Daukes of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards. [4]

Techniques of developing urban camouflage have varied across time. In 1990, the US Army's Natick Research, Development and Engineering Center (now the Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center) analyzed individual samples of terrain ranging from rubble piles to stucco through the Terrain Analysis System (TAS). From these samples, the TAS gathered spectrophotometric data in order to determine the most prominent colours. This was known as the "clustering" procedure, where pixels of the scene were grouped by colour into "domains". These domains provided data that demonstrated the range of colours in the scene through mean colour difference and CIELAB values. The results provided by the TAS were used to assist in the development of candidate urban camouflage patterns. [5]

The US Army developed and evaluated two two-colour and one three-colour prototype patterns for a projected Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (MOUT) camouflage uniform in 1994. The patterns showed promise but were never adopted. [6]

Related Research Articles

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Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier, and the leaf-mimic katydid's wings. A third approach, motion dazzle, confuses the observer with a conspicuous pattern, making the object visible but momentarily harder to locate, as well as making general aiming easier. The majority of camouflage methods aim for crypsis, often through a general resemblance to the background, high contrast disruptive coloration, eliminating shadow, and countershading. In the open ocean, where there is no background, the principal methods of camouflage are transparency, silvering, and countershading, while the ability to produce light is among other things used for counter-illumination on the undersides of cephalopods such as squid. Some animals, such as chameleons and octopuses, are capable of actively changing their skin pattern and colours, whether for camouflage or for signalling. It is possible that some plants use camouflage to evade being eaten by herbivores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tank</span> Tracked heavy armoured fighting vehicle

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urban warfare</span> Warfare in urban areas

Urban warfare is warfare in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both the operational and the tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the presence of civilians and the complexity of the urban terrain. Urban combat operations may be conducted to capitalize on strategic or tactical advantages associated with the possession or the control of a particular urban area or to deny these advantages to the enemy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MARPAT</span> US Marine Corps camouflage pattern

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military uniform</span> Standardised military dress

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Army Combat Uniform</span> Combat utility uniform of the United States Army, Air Force, and Space Force

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disruptive Pattern Camouflage Uniform</span> Five-colour military camouflage pattern

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">MultiCam</span> Camouflage pattern

MultiCam is a camouflage pattern designed for use in a wide range of environments and conditions which was specifically developed and is produced by American company Crye Precision. As a result of the pattern's effectiveness across disparate environments and regions, it has found extensive adoption globally. Variants of it, some unlicensed, are in use with armed forces worldwide, particularly with special operations units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand disruptive pattern material</span>

The New Zealand disruptive pattern material, also known as New Zealand DPM (NZDPM), was the official camouflage pattern on uniforms of the New Zealand Defence Force from 1980 until 2013. It was replaced with a new pattern called Multi Terrain Camouflage (MCU) which was exclusive to the NZDF. This was in turn replaced by the New Zealand Multi Terrain Pattern (NZMTP) from 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Camouflage Pattern</span> United States Army military camouflage pattern

The Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) is a digital military camouflage pattern formerly used by the United States Army in their Army Combat Uniform. Technicians at Natick Soldier Systems Center attempted to devise a uniform pattern that would mask the wearer in all seasonal environments. Laboratory and field tests from 2003 to 2004 showed a pattern named "All-Over-Brush" to provide the best concealment of the patterns tested. All-Over-Brush was selected as the winner over ten other patterns, It was observed at the time that the universal disadvantage of an all-in-one pattern meant compromise and lowered effectiveness in all environments versus a more effective coloration for each environment. Further, the winning All-Over-Brush pattern was not in fact chosen as the final UCP. Instead, U.S. Army leadership utilized pixellated images taken from Canadian CADPAT and US Marine Corps MARPAT, then recolored them based on three universal colors developed in the Army's 2002-2004 tests, to be called the UCP. While the pixelated pattern of the UCP is similar to the MARPAT and CADPAT camouflage patterns used by the United States Marine Corps and the Canadian Armed Forces, its coloration differs significantly. The final UCP was then adopted without field testing against other patterns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Type 07</span> Standard dress uniform of the Peoples Liberation Army of China

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multi-Terrain Pattern</span> Camouflage pattern of the British Armed Forces

The Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP) is the standard camouflage pattern of the British Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CADPAT</span> Computer-generated digital camouflage pattern used by the Canadian Armed Forces

Canadian Disruptive Pattern is the computer-generated digital camouflage pattern developed for use by the Canadian Armed Forces. Four operational variations of CADPAT have been used by the Canadian Armed Forces: a temperate woodland pattern, an arid regions pattern, a winter operations pattern, and a multi-terrain pattern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disruptive coloration</span> Camouflage to break up an objects outlines

Disruptive coloration is a form of camouflage that works by breaking up the outlines of an animal, soldier or military vehicle with a strongly contrasting pattern. It is often combined with other methods of crypsis including background colour matching and countershading; special cases are coincident disruptive coloration and the disruptive eye mask seen in some fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. It appears paradoxical as a way of not being seen, since disruption of outlines depends on high contrast, so the patches of colour are themselves conspicuous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operational Camouflage Pattern</span> United States military camouflage pattern

Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP), originally codenamed Scorpion W2, is a military camouflage pattern adopted in 2015 by the United States Army for use as the U.S. Army's main camouflage pattern on the Army Combat Uniform (ACU). This pattern officially replaced the U.S. Army's previous Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) as the official combat uniform pattern for most U.S. soldiers at the end of September 2019. The pattern also superseded the closely related MultiCam, a pattern previously used for troops deploying to Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Multicam Camouflage Uniform</span>

The Australian Multicam Camouflage Uniform (AMCU) is the combat uniform camouflage pattern for the Australian Defence Force, general issued from 2014 onwards. The AMCU is replacing the previously used Disruptive Pattern Camouflage Uniform (DPCU) and Australian Multicam Pattern - Operational Combat Uniform (AMP-OCU) camouflage patterns.

The McKenna Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) site was an urban village built by Army engineers for urban training of soldiers on a US Army base in Fort Benning, Georgia. The site belongs to the Soldier Battlelab and was primarily used for live, virtual and constructive experimentation on soldier systems, weapons, and equipment. The McKenna MOUT site was approximately 200 meters square, and included 15 buildings resembling a European village. There was a church, small houses, domestic residences and office-style buildings.

References

  1. Steck, Thomas T. (October 1980). Camouflage and Deception Techniques for Urban Warfare (PDF). US Army. pp. 18 and whole document. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 26, 2021. 2. Urban Camouflage Patterns. This project would develop various camouflage patterns for use in urban areas. Patterns would include harsh and soft geometric patterns as well as soft, random curves utilized in the current Army field camouflage patterns.
  2. Reimer, Dennis J. (12 May 1993). An Infantryman's Guide to Combat in Built-up Areas (PDF). US Army. pp. 5.40–5.44. Standard camouflage pattern painting of equipment is not as effective inbuilt-up areas as a solid, dull, dark color hidden in shadows. Since repaintingvehicles before entering a built-up area is not always practical, the lightersand-colored patterns should be subdued with mud or dirt.
  3. Davies, W. (2012). "Berlin Brigade Urban Paint Scheme". Newsletter. Ex-Military Land Rover Association. Archived from the original on 12 March 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  4. Chris Copson (17 November 2023). Can you make a tank disappear? The Evolution of Tank Camouflage. The Tank Museum. Event occurs at 14:47-15:52. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  5. Hepfinger, L. B. (February 1990), Analysis of Urban Terrain Data for Use in the Development of an Urban Camouflage Pattern , US Army. Whole document.
  6. "Urban Camouflage". Department of Defense . Retrieved 23 January 2021.