Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia was on 1st January 1993 divided into two states: Slovakia and Czech Republic

Czechoslovakian Camouflage Patterns

• Four colour sumpfmuster pattern. Used from 1948 and loosely-based on the German WW2 Sumpfmuster camouflage. Studies suggst the pattern may even have been printed on original German WW2 era rollers. There are a couple of versions of this pattern, which was used primarily for shelter quarters but also saw very limited use as a British Denison-style parachutist smock.

• Mrácky (clouds) reversible pattern. Official designation Letní maskovací odev se skvrnami ("summer camouflage pattern with dapple pattern"). Used by the Czechoslovak 22nd Airborne Brigade and reconnaissance elements of the Army during 1950s to 1970s (production stopped 1962).

• Duby (oak) reversible pattern. One side has a pattern that is often mistaken for the German Leibermuster pattern - but if you study them they are in fact quite different. Used by the Czechoslovak 22nd Airborne Brigade and reconnaissance elements of the Army during 1950s to 1970s (production stopped 1962).

• The Vz 60 Mlok (salamander) pattern introduced in 1960 for issue to the 22nd Airborne Brigade. Surplus uniforms later found their way to the Yemen (Democratic Republic) and military forces in Palestine (PLO). Many collectors have called this "clown pattern," although thankfully that nickname seems to be dying out.

• The Jehlicí (needles) or oblaky (clouds) pattern, introduced into general service with the Czechoslovak Army from 1963 to the 1980s. As can been seen on the examples below the "clouds" pattern can be quite subtle.

• A five-colour desert pattern developed by Czechoslovakia circa 1990 but never officially adopted. It may or may not have been developed for use by the Czechoslovak Armed Forces. This is a "splatter" pattern of reddish-brown, pale orange, light pink and pale green on a sandy background. Official photos do show a soldier wearing the desert pattern adopted by the Czech Republic with boots in this pattern. There is also a colour version with more green etc. - probably developed for use in an European environment.

Other Camouflage Patterns Worn by Czechoslovakia

• During the Second World War, airborne elements of the Czech Army under Allied commando wore British "brushstroke" pattern Denison paratrooper smocks.

• The very first Czechoslovakian airborne unit, raised in 1948, wore British Denison-style paratrooper smocks made from Italian M1949 telo mimetico pattern fabric. The smocks were either constructed from surplus fabric leftover from the Second World War, or from fabric produced locally from war-era Italian machines that had been moved into Czechoslovakia towards the end of the war.