07 January 2009
| ANIMALS USE
CAMOUFLAGE TO HELP PROTECT AGAINST PREDATORS.
PREDATORS USE CAMOUFLAGE TO HELP ATTACK THEIR PREY. THE BASIC IDEA OF CAMOUFLAGING ANY OBJECT IS TO MAKE IT BLEND INTO ITS SURROUNDINGS THUS GIVING IT AN ADVANTAGE, BY MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO DETECT. THE OBJECTIVE OF CAMOUFLAGING IS TO: 1. MAKE THE OBJECT A SIMILAR COLOUR TO THE BACKGROUND IT IS TO BE VIEWED AGAINST. 2. TO APPEAR TO BE A SIMILAR TEXTURE TO THIS BACKGROUND. 3. TO REMOVE ANY REFLECTIONS FROM ITS SURFACE SO IT CANNOT BE SEEN EASILY WHEN STILL AND DETECTED EASILY IF IT MOVES. 4. TO BREAK UP IT’S OUTLINE TO GIVE IT LESS DEFINITION WHEN IT IS VIEWED AGAINST THE BACKGROUND. 5. TO BREAK UP THE OUTLINE TO GIVE IT LESS DEFINITION WHEN VIEWED AS A SILHOUETTE WITH LIGHT BEHIND IT. 6. MAKE IT LOW MAINTENANCE AND NOT ENCUMBER THE OBJECT, OR USER MAKING IT 100% FUNCTIONAL AND MOVEABLE WITHIN ITS AREA OF OPERATION. WE HAVE USED ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE / MATERIALS / ADVICE FROM VETERANS AND FIELD MANUALS TO GET THE MOST ACCURATE EFFECTS FOR YOU TO MAKE COMPARISONS AND DISCUSS WHETHER YOU THINK THE VARIOUS CAMOUFLAGE SCHEMES WORK WELL IF AT ALL! THE CAMOUFLAGE BACKGROUND IS AN ITALIAN CLOTH MADE FOR THE EUROPEAN THEATRE OF OPERATIONS IN THE PRESENT DAY AND HAS PRINTS OF LEAVES AND TWIGS ALL OVER IT; WE THOUGHT IT WOULD MAKE A GOOD BACKGROUND |
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| 1. LOOK HOW THE NET DULLS DOWN THE REFLECTIVE SURFACE AND BREAKS UP THE OUTLINE OF THE HELMET. SHINY OBJECTS LOOK GOOD ON PARADE GROUNDS BUT NOT WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO HIDE. | 2. SOME HELMETS ARE PAINTED FOR HIGH VISIBILITY TO DENOTE THEIR RANK OR STATUS SO THEY CAN BE FOUND EASILY AMONGST RUINS. BUT TRY AND CAMOUFLAGE USING THE WRONG COLOUR AND THE HELMET STILL STICKS OUT |
3. COMPARE THIS SHINY HELMET WITH THE HOMEGUARDS HOMEMADE STRING NET COVERED IN FRESH LEAVES. THE HELMET IS BETTER CONCEALED BECAUSE OF LACK OF REFLECTION AND THE OUTLINE IS BROKEN UP. |
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| 4. IT’S NO GOOD DULLING DOWN THE REFLECTIVE PROPERTIES OF THE HELMET IF THE COLOUR IS WRONG, IT WILL STILL STAND OUT. IF YOU BREAK UP THE OUTLINE WITH THE WRONG FOLIAGE AGAINST THE COLOUR OF THE BACKGROUND CHANCES ARE IT WILL DRAW FIRE AS PEOPLE WILL EASILY NOTICE A MOVING BUSH! | 5. THE CORRECT COLOUR HELMET WITH A NET MAKES IT MORE DIFFICULT TO SEE AND IS LESS LIKELY TO DRAW FIRE. IF YOU COULD NOT FIND THE RIGHT COLOUR PAINT WHERE YOU WERE POSITIONED LOCAL MUD COULD BE USED TO CHANGE THE COLOUR OF THE HELMET TO BLEND IN. |
6. CHOOSING THE RIGHT COLOUR AND TEXTURE OF MATERIALS WILL MAKE THE OBJECT VERY DIFFICULT TO SEE OR DETECT ITS MOVEMENT. HESSIAN SACKING OVER A HELMET BLENDED I N VERY WELL IN DESERT CONDITIONS. EUROPEAN CAMOUFLAGE WOULD BE OF NO USE AND WOULD STAND OUT MORE. |
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7. CORRECTLY APPLIED, DULL TEXTURED PAINT AND NETS WITH SCRAPS OF COLOURED SCRIM AND CLOTH OF A SIMILAR COLOUR SCHEME MAKE THESE HELMETS VERY HARD TO SEE AND DISTINGUISH WHAT THEY ARE FROM A VERY CLOSE DISTANCE. THE HELMET CAMOUFLAGE ON THE RIGHT IS OF A HOME GUARD DESIGN FOR HIDING IN DERELICT HOUSES AND BOMB SITES AND ON ONE SIDE HAS OLD CIGARETTE PACKETS AND OLD JUNK ATTACHED TO IT FOR SNIPING. |
8. LIKE PHOTOGRAPH 6 USING THE WRONG COLOUR AGAINST A BACKGROUND WILL MAKE THE HELMET HIGHLY VISIBLE. THE HELMET ON THE LEFT IS A MK.2 “TOMMY” HELMET AND THE ONE ON THE LEFT IS A MK.3 “TURTLE” HELMET. IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN SHAPE DUE TO THE ATTACHED CLOTH STRIPS. CLOTH OF VARYING COLOURS WAS PREFERRED IN MOST CASES AS LEAVES CHANGE COLOUR AS THEY DIE AND CONSTANTLY NEED CHANGING FOR FRESH ONES. |
9. TYPICAL MK.2 HELMET CAMOUFLAGE OF WW2 AS USED IN THE EUROPEAN THEATRE. THE RIGHT HAND HELMET HAS QUICKLY APPLIED KNOTS OF SCRIM ATTACHED TO THE NET. AND THE LEFT HAND HELMET HAS A “TWO TONE” SCRIM NET COVER APPLIED WITH OLD PIECES OF SCRIM KHAKI GAS MASK BAG CLOTH AND OTHER SCRAPS OF MATERIAL ATTACHED, THE MORE TIME SPENT ON CAMOUFLAGING A HELMET (TIME ALLOWING) THE BETTER THE JOB AND SNIPERS WERE PARTICULARLY CAREFUL OF THIS AS THEIR CONCEALMENT DEPENDED ON IT. |
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| 10. MK. 2 HELMETS COVERED HAND KNITTED HOMEGUARD PATTERN HELMET COVERS FOR SNIPERS THE HELMET COVER ON THE LEFT IS MADE FROM A CONTINUOUS LENGTH OF DIED STRING WITH SCRIM AND KHAKI CLOTH ATTACHED AND COULD BE EASILY REMOVED AND WORN AS A FACE VEIL DIRECTLY OVER THE HEAD. THE HELMET ON THE LEFT HAS OLD BUS TICKETS AND GENERAL HOUSE HOLD JUNK ATTACHED TO IT FOR HIDING IN RUINS, | CAN YOU SEE 4 HELMETS HERE ! |
11. THE HELMET ON THE LEFT IS A GERMAN 1943 PATTERN ARMY HELMET SPRAYED IN DARK GREY AND TAN DULL PAINT, WITH CLOTH STRIPS ATTACHED. THE SHAPE IS HARDLY DISTINGUISHABLE IN SHAPE FROM THE BRITISH MK. 3 “TURTLE” HELMET ON THE RIGHT. THESE CAMOUFLAGE SCHEMES WERE VERY COMMONLY SEEN IN NORMANDY IN 1944. |
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| 12. THE HELMET ON THE LEFT IS A GERMAN 1943 PATTERN. IT IS SPRAYED IN LUFTWAFFE FIELD BLUE / GREY WITH A CLOTH BAND ATTACHED FOR ATTACHING LEAVES AND TWIGS. IT HAS A PAIR OF ANTI-DUST GOGGLES MOUNTED ON THE FRONT. THE HELMET ON THE RIGHT IS A GERMAN 1940 PATTERN HELMET SPRAYED IN GREY / GREEN PAINT WITH NO PROVISION FOR CAMOUFLAGING IT. NOTICE HOW PROMINENT THE SHAPE OF THE HELMET IS AND STANDS OUT AGAINST THE BACKING AND IN SILHOUETTE. | 13. NOTICE HOW EVEN WITH THE WRONG COLOUR PAINT THE OUTLINE OF THE HELMET IS BROKEN UP AND MAKES IT MORE DIFFICULT TO SPOT BY SILHOUETTE AND REDUCTION OF THE REFLECTIVE SURFACE. THE HELMET ON THE LEFT IS A GERMAN LUFTWAFFE 1940 PATTERN HELMET PAINTED WITH SAND COLOURED PAINT STRUNG WITH A ROUGH “SIZAL” NET AND HESSIAN CLOTH TYPICAL OF CAMOUFLAGE USED IN TUNISIA AND ITALY. |
14. WHEN ISSUED NETS WERE NOT AVAILABLE CAMOUFLAGE NETS WERE MADE FROM ANYTHING THAT BE FOUND LOCALLY. THE NET ON THE HELMET ON THE LEFT IS MADE FROM CHICKEN WIRE AND IS HELD ON WITH “Z” SHAPED HOOKS TO THE RIM OF THE HELMET. OLD SACKING MATERIAL AND STRIPS OF TORN UNIFORM HAVE THEN BEEN TIED TO THIS FRAMEWORK MAKING A GOOD JOB OF CONCEALING THE OUTLINE AS OPPOSED TO THE PAINTED HELMET ON THE RIGHT. |
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| 15. THE GERMAN 1943 PATTERN HELMET ON THE RIGHT HAS A THREE COLOUR CAMOUFLAGE PAINT SCHEME SAND / GREY GREEN / RED BROWN, A STRING NET, OLD PIECES OF UNIFORM CLOTH AND REAL FOLIAGE ATTACHED TYPICAL FOR SNIPERS WORKING IN THE ARDENNES OFFENSIVE EUROPE 1944 | 16. AMERICAN M 1 HELMET WITH CAMOUFLAGE NET AND CLOTH BAND CONCEALS WELL AGAINST THE BACKING, BUT NOT NEARLY AS WELL AS THE M 1 PARATROOPS HELMET ON THE RIGHT WITH IT’S SACKING AND KHAKI CLOTH ATTACHED. | 17. MEDICS NEEDED TO BE SEEN AND RECOGNISED FROM A LONG WAY OFF SO THEIR HELMETS WERE ALWAYS PAINTED WITH HIGHLY VISIBLE RED CROSS EMBLEMS AS WAS REQUIRED BY THE GENEVA CONVENTION. IN THE JAPANESE THEATRE THESE CROSSES WERE USUALLY PAINTED OVER. |
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18. TYPICAL AMERICAN NET AND CLOTH HELMET CAMOUFLAGE OF THE EUROPEAN THEATRE IN WW2. |
19. AMERICAN M1 HELMET GERMAN M 1940 HELMET BRITISH MK.3 “TURTLE” ALL CONCEAL VERY WELL AGAINST A FOLIAGE BACKGROUND TYPICAL OF THE STYLE OF COUNTRYSIDE ENCOUNTERED IN THE EUROPEAN THEATRE OF OPERATIONS. |
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| 20. BRITISH MK11 HELMET WITH COTTON SNOW COVER AND SCRIM FOLIAGE ATTACHED | 21. BRITISH MK11 HELMET WITH EARLY B.E.F. (MICKY MOUSE EARS) PAINTED CAMOUFLAGE | 22. M1916 PATTERN FIRST WORLD WAR GERMAN HELMET PAINTED IN ASSAULT TROOPS DAZZLE CAMOUFLAGE |
