Bulgaria - Revision history

Admin1: /* Republic of Bulgaria */

2026-05-24T01:35:34Z

Republic of Bulgaria

Admin1 at 23:24, 20 May 2026

2026-05-20T23:24:15Z

Admin1 at 23:19, 20 May 2026

2026-05-20T23:19:25Z

Admin1: /* Bulgarian Camouflage Patterns */

2022-10-05T23:16:58Z

Bulgarian Camouflage Patterns

Admin1: /* Bulgarian Camouflage Patterns */

2022-10-05T23:16:41Z

Bulgarian Camouflage Patterns

Admin1: /* Bulgarian Camouflage Patterns */

2022-10-05T23:16:09Z

Bulgarian Camouflage Patterns

Admin1: /* Bulgarian Camouflage Patterns */

2022-10-05T23:14:44Z

Bulgarian Camouflage Patterns

Admin1: /* Other Camouflage Patterns worn by Bulgaria */

2021-10-03T22:11:59Z

Other Camouflage Patterns worn by Bulgaria

Admin1: /* Bulgarian Camouflage Patterns */

2020-01-09T01:00:23Z

Bulgarian Camouflage Patterns

Admin1: /* Bulgarian Camouflage Patterns */

2019-10-30T00:22:12Z

Bulgarian Camouflage Patterns

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 == Republic of Bulgaria ==
-Bulgarian units employed a variation of the [[Germany (Third Reich)|German]] ''Wehrmacht splittertarn'' ([[splinter]]) pattern during or immediately following the Second World War. This in turn led to adoption of a number of variations of the pattern over the next 55 years, which ultimately became the standard uniform of the Bulgarian soldier. With the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union, Bulgaria rapidly became interested in shedding her ties to the old regimes and adopted several camouflage patterns based on the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[DPM]] modelub the early part of the 21st century. These remain in regular service today.
+Bulgaria emerged from the Second World War as a single-party nation, the Communist People’s Republic under the influence of the [[USSR|Soviet Union]]. It became a member of the Warsaw Pact in 1955 and sent military advisors to various regions in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1989, responding to the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, the Bulgarian communist party relinquished its political monopoly and in 1990 free elections were held. The country was invited to join NATO in 2004 and deployed military personnel to Afghanistan as part of ISAF.
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-* Little is known about the camouflage pattern seen here, except that it appears to have been worn by Bulgarian military advisors serving in desert or semi-arid regions at some point. The design itself seems to be a re-coloration of a pattern also produced in Bulgaria for export to insurgent organizations such as the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) in [[South West Africa]].
+* Little is known about the camouflage pattern seen here, except that it appears to have been worn by Bulgarian military advisors serving in desert or semi-arid regions towards the end of the communist period. The design itself seems to be a re-coloration of a pattern also produced in Bulgaria for export to insurgent organizations such as the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) in [[South West Africa]].
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-* Introduced when Bulgaria became member of NATO in 2003, this five-color Disruptive Pattern Material or [[DPM]] design was fielded by Bulgarian units serving in the Balkans initially. The design features black, russet, medium olive & light olive green disruptive shapes on pale green or khaki background.
+* Introduced just after Bulgaria became member of NATO in 2004, this five-color Disruptive Pattern Material or [[DPM]] design was initially fielded by Bulgarian units serving in the Balkans and later became the standard pattern for the entire armed forces, remaining so until 2018. The design features black, russet, medium olive & light olive green disruptive shapes on pale green or khaki background.
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-* At some point in the 1990s, Bulgarian military advisors were issued an interesting [[lizard]] camouflage pattern uniform. Featuring green and brown horizontal stripes on a sandy background, the design was probably intended to blend into desert or semi-arid regions such as those in Africa or the Middle East where these advisors were serving.
+* At some point in the late 1980s, Bulgarian military advisors were issued an interesting [[lizard]] camouflage pattern uniform. Featuring green and brown horizontal stripes on a sandy background, the design was probably intended to blend into desert or semi-arid regions such as those in Africa or the Middle East where these advisors were serving. Sources in Bulgaria also suggest that the pattern may have been used for compulsory military training (NVO) which occurred around the 10th year of schooling in Bulgaria during the communism period.
 [[File:bulgaria2.jpg|200px]]
-* Another Bulgarian [[lizard]] camouflage design to emerge during this time period (circa 1999) was a green tiger stripe pattern. It is unknown if the pattern was simply a trial design, but some sources suggest it was worn by Bulgarian special forces for a short time. The pattern has brown & dark green horizontal stripes on olive green background.
+* Another Bulgarian [[lizard]] camouflage design to emerge during the late 1990s was a green-dominant pattern. This pattern was simply a trial design, and probably not adopted due to its similarity to lizard patterns worn by [[Greece]]. The pattern has brown & dark green horizontal stripes on olive green background.
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 * A more faithful, but much less-defined version of the wartime German ''Splittermuster'' ([[splinter]]) pattern was introduced circa 1953. The design incorporated very crudely printed green and brown splinter shapes on a light olive green field with wavy rain straits. This pattern was worn as a coverall by primarily by Bulgarian airborne troops.

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-* A variation of the three-color splinter pattern utilizing different screens is known to have emerged between 1951 and 1952. Bulgarian uniforms in this pattern conformed to the Soviet "reconnaissance" uniform design introduced during the Second World War, and the fabric was equally lightweight.
+* A variation of the three-color splinter pattern utilizing different screens is known to have emerged between 1951 and 1952. Bulgarian uniforms in this pattern conformed to the Soviet "reconnaissance" uniform design introduced during the Second World War, and the fabric was equally lightweight, although again extant samples indicate a wide variation in the shades of green and brown dyes utilized in the printing process.
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 == Bulgarian Camouflage Patterns ==
-* The earliest Bulgarian camouflage pattern was a [[splinter]] pattern highly derivative of the ''Splittermuster'' pattern of the [[Germany (Third Reich)|German Wehrmacht]]. The pattern is thought to have been used during WW2 or shortly thereafter, as some details of the uniform and the high-quality printing suggest that it was pre-Communist era. The pattern features green and brown or russet geometric splinter shapes on a khaki background.
+* The earliest Bulgarian camouflage pattern was a [[splinter]] pattern highly derivative of the ''Splittermuster'' pattern of the [[Germany (Third Reich)|German Wehrmacht]]. The pattern is thought to have been used during WW2 or shortly thereafter, as some details of the uniform and the high-quality printing suggest that it was pre-Communist era. The pattern features green and brown or russet geometric splinter shapes on a khaki background, although extant samples vary considerably in the shades of green and brown dyes that were applied.
 [[File:Bulgaria13.jpg|200px]]

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		+	* Since around 2020, Bulgarian Air Force have been wearing the so-called "Universal Camouflage Pattern" or UCP, developed in the United States and worn by the US Army officially until 2019. It is uncertain whether the uniforms are made locally, or imported from Asian factories.
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	== Comparison Photos ==		== Comparison Photos ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:00, 9 January 2020
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		+	* There is some photographic evidence indicating that Bulgarian military personnel wore Soviet ''solnechnye zaychiki'' (sunshine rays) or ''berezkha'' pattern camouflage uniforms, probably in the 1960s or 1970s.
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		+	[[File:ussr4.jpg\|200px]]

	* A completely different camouflage pattern emerged and was issued alongside the "splinter" pattern circa 1968, known by the Bulgarians as жабежка кожа or ''Zhabezhka kozha'' (frogskin) pattern. The design, featuring bright green spots & blotches, and brown rain straits on a grey background, was printed on the same style coveralls for issue to airborne personnel and chemical troops (possibly to confuse NATO forces). The coveralls were later issued to Border Patrols or Federal Border Guards (sources conflict as to which is correct).		* A completely different camouflage pattern emerged and was issued alongside the "splinter" pattern circa 1968, known by the Bulgarians as жабежка кожа or ''Zhabezhka kozha'' (frogskin) pattern. The design, featuring bright green spots & blotches, and brown rain straits on a grey background, was printed on the same style coveralls for issue to airborne personnel and chemical troops (possibly to confuse NATO forces). The coveralls were later issued to Border Patrols or Federal Border Guards (sources conflict as to which is correct).

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-* Circa 1979 yet another version of the Bulgarian [[splinter]] design emerged, now featuring more densely-aligned dark green and dark brown splinter shapes on a grey-green field with wavy rain straits. Another interesting feature of this version is that the splinter shapes themselves no longer touched each other. Both summer and winter issue uniforms were now being produced, although issue was still limited primarily to airborne, intelligence, and special forces personnel. The pattern was also exported to [[Afghanistan]] in the 1980s.
+* Circa 1979 yet another version of the Bulgarian [[splinter]] design emerged, now featuring more densely-aligned dark green and dark brown splinter shapes on a grey-green field with wavy rain straits. Another interesting feature of this version is that the splinter shapes themselves no longer touched each other. Both summer and winter issue uniforms were now being produced, although issue was still limited primarily to airborne, intelligence, and special forces personnel. The pattern was also exported to [[Afghanistan]] in the 1980s. It is interesting to note that, on some versions of this design, the splintered shapes appear to have been reversed.
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 * Common among most Warsaw Pact nations at one time or another, Bulgaria also adopted a "[[rain]] drop" pattern between the 1960s and 1970s. The design, quite similar to that adopted by [[DDR|East Germany]], consisted of thick brown "rain straits" on a pale grey-green background, with a light contrasting pattern of purple/brown splotches or spots. This pattern has only been doucmented on the special operations coveralls that were issued to paratroops, reconnaissance personnel, artillery spotters and some engineer personnel. Based on limited documentation, it is likely these coveralls saw distribution for an extremely short period of time.