Flecktarn

Flecktarn Camouflage

Flecktarn refers to a family of camouflage patterns featuring a combination of three-, four-, five- or six-colors with small overlapping dots, spots, or "flecks." The word Flecktarn is derived from the German words Fleck (spot) and Tarnung (camouflage). The term was coined by German designers in the 1970s during the Bundeswehr Truppenversuch 76, or German Army Uniform Trials of 1976. Several patterns were tested during the trials, but the one ultimately selected for general issue to the German Armed Forces was Flecktarn B or Flecktarnmuster (spot camouflage pattern), a five-color design consisting of light green, light olive green, dark green, reddish-brown, and black, which was adopted in 1989. The official name of the German design is actually 5 Farben-Tarndruck der Bundeswehr or five-color camouflage print of the Bundeswehr. It is generally accepted that Flecktarn camouflage was developed by the German firm Marquardt and Schultz in cooperation with the French company Texunion.

Flecktarn is often misspelled Flectarn or Flecktar in some circles, and some of its derivatives are simply called "dots" pattern. Flecktarn-like camouflage designs have been adopted by a number of other countries besides Germany.

It has been suggested by some that the Flecktarn design may have been influenced by the German WW2 "pea pattern" (Erbsenmuster), but there is little evidence to substantiate such a claim.

The original German Flecktarn is a five-color pattern incorporating black, reddish-brown, dark olive and medium olive green spots on a moss green background. A desert version (referred to initially as Tropentarn but later as Wüstentarn) originally introduced in 1993 incorporates sparse dark olive & reddish-brown spots on yellow-tan background.

Colour distribution in the standard Flecktarn and the desert Flecktarn:

Flecktarn	Desert Flecktarn	Percentage
Black	Green	13.3
Dark Green	Tan	41.2
Brown	Brown	17.5
Light green	Tan	8.9
Grey green	Tan	19.1

• Denmark was the first nation to test its own version (the T/78 pattern) in 1978, and later introduced a finalized version (the M/84) in 1984. The number of colours in the Danish pattern was reduced from five to three. A desert variation was introduced in 2000.

Comparision of the German and Danish versions of the Flecktarn pattern

Comparison of the Danish desert pattern and the German Wüstentarn (desert pattern) to the right

• Belgium issued a variation of the original Flecktarn design with slightly modified colouration around 1990 for the Air Force Commandos (airfield protection units).

• China has issued two different Flecktarn-type patterns. The first, worn primarily as a summer training uniform and by some Border Security units, seems to be a direct copy of the original German design. The second, also a five color pattern, features black, dark brown, russet and olive green dot pattern on a sandy background, and is worn primarily by PLA units in Tibet and the Beijing Military Region.

• Japan adopted a new camouflage design based on the German Army's flecktarn in 1991, which is issued to the entire JNSDF. The pattern features black, brown, and grass green dots on a khaki background. The pattern is often called Jietai (自衛隊) in reference to the indigenous name for the JNSDF. A variation of the pattern for cold and wet-weather uniforms with an inverse ration of green-to-brown, is also in circulation.

• Poland has also issued a series of three different flecktarn-inspired camouflage patterns. These have been worn by special units of the National Police and the Police Internal Security Agency.

• In Russia some airborne units, as well as by some units of the Federal Security Service (Федеральная служба безопасности, or FSB), have worn a direct copy of the original German design since 2005-2006. Known locally as Flectar, the pattern has black, dark green, greyish-olive, and russet spots on a yellowish-tan background.

• Another flecktarn-based design adopted by some units in Russia is Flectar-D, which is actually based on the Danish m/84 design.