Tiger stripe

Tiger Stripe Camouflage

The term tiger stripe refers to the family of camouflage designs orignially manufactured for use in Southeast Asia (particularly the Republic of Vietnam) during the 1960s, and which were heavily influenced by the earlier French tenue du leopard or lizard design of the 1950s. The term additionally refers to the multitude of derivatives produced by a wide number of nations well into the present period. French camouflage uniforms were in fact supplied to Colonial Vietnamese personnel during the First Indochina War, particularly to airborne and commando units. The Vietnamese referred to these different designs as Sọc Răn (striped uniform). The term tiger stripe (or tiger pattern) no doubt refers to the rudimentary similarity between the narrow brush strokes of the camouflage design and the naturally occurring hide design of the genus Panthera tigris. Although the original, Vietnam War era uniforms were primarily worn by elite units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, Republic of Vietnam Navy, the Republic of Vietnam Air Force, and a number of allied units, nearly all of the fabrics and many of the uniforms themselves were, in fact, produced in neighboring Asian countries, such as Japan (including Okinawa), South Korea, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Thailand.

South Vietnamese Tiger Stripe Camouflage Patterns

• The very first tiger stripe design was a locally-made copy of the French lizard pattern produced for the Vietnamese Marine Corps (Thữy Quân Lục-Chiến), first produced in 1957. The pattern incorporates bold black stripes over lesser brownish-drab stripes & light green trace elements, with an olive green base color. Production of this design ended in 1967, although units continued to wear the pattern until 1970. Illustrated below are the original pattern (far left), followed by two variants designated "Vietnamese Marines sparse" (first produced in 1959 and often mistakenly referred to as VNMC First Pattern) and "Vietnamese Marines dense" (first produced in 1968), also referred to by collectors as "sea wave" or VNMC Second Pattern. Consensus suggests both textiles and uniforms were all produced in South Vietnam, but that 2nd pattern uniforms may also have been produced in the Republic of Korea.

• The tiger pattern example seen here emerged in 1962 or possibly 1963 and continued in production until 1975. Johnson has named this John Wayne Sparse (JWS) pattern, owing to its specific use in the film The Green Berets starring John Wayne himself . The pattern features bold black stripes over a background comprising dark green & dull brown with tan trace elements. This pattern and the uniforms produced with it appear to have been exclusively manufactured in Japan.

• Another variation in the John Wayne series of tiger patterns has been nicknamed John Wayne Compact, and has a shorter pattern length than its predecessor or successor, the "John Wayne Dense" pattern. This design was probably produced in limited quantity circa 1962-1963, most of which ended up being made into private purchase aviation suits. Leftover quantities of the fabric appear to have made it to South Vietnamese tailor shops where it was used to custom-tailor a variety of private purchase items such as shirts, trousers, caps, and garment bags.

• Closely related to the above are these designs, named John Wayne Dense (JWD) by Johnson, or sometimes "Okinawan" or "Classic" by collectors. Introduced around 1964, like the sparse variant these designs are believed to have been exclusively produced in Japan, possibly only in Okinawa.

• The tiger pattern illustrated below has been named Tadpole Sparse (TDS) pattern in Johnson's book, although it is often simply called "silver" by many collectors. It was introduced circa 1964 and saw production until the end of the war. The pattern features bold black (or dark blue) stripes over a background comprising dark green & brown with pea green trace elements. Evidence suggests the majority of these uniforms and the fabric itself was produced in Japan.

• A variation of the above is seen here, which Johnson calls Tadpole Dense (TDD) pattern, and appears to have been introduced around 1970. The pattern features bold black stripes over a background comprising bright green & light brown with dull pea green trace elements. Evidence suggests the majority of these uniforms and the fabric itself was produced in Japan.

• Another distinctive tiger pattern to emerge towards the middle of the war (circa 1968) has been named Advisor's Type Dense, (ADD) also called "Advisor's Classic," or "Purple" by collectors. This pattern saw service primarily with CIDG units, ARVN Rangers & Special Forces, and featured bold black stripes over a background comprising bold black stripes over a background comprising dark green & dull brown with dull tan trace elements. A key feature that can be found in this pattern (although also present in other tiger patterns) is the "bunny" shape, which has a vague resemblence to the silhouette of a rabbit (in black).

• The Advisor's Type Sparse (ADS) aka "Gold tiger" variant of the above pattern is seen below, also introduced circa 1968.

• The distinctive patterns seen below have been named Late War Lightweight Sparse (LLS) in Johnson's book, with "lightweight" referring to the ultralight quality of the fabric. As the nickname implies, the designs with this distinction appear to post date most of the other designs. Introduced in 1969, the design features bold black stripes over a background comprising bright green & light brown with dull pea green trace elements, although in fact there are a multitude of color variations once you factor in fading, the effects of laundering, and the variety of dyes employed.

• The Late War Lightweight Dense (LLD) version of this pattern can be recognized by the shorter print, leaving out a section of shapes featured in the longer "sparse" version.

• Variations of the "late war" pattern were produced in three fabric weights: Lightweight, Mediumweight, and Heavyweight. As with its sparse cousin, the dense versions of this tiger stripe design appear to have been introduced around 1969. Extant samples of these patterns can be found in a multitude of color blends, once again attributable to varied dye combinations, repeated laundering, and exposure to sunlight and other extreme weather elements. As unissued examples of these patterns can be difficult to obtain, we offer a number of variations below, organized by fabric weight (light, medium, and heavy)

• Often nicknamed "zig-zag" pattern, the tiger design seen here may have developed out of the original drawings of the JWD tiger stripe. The earliest documentation of its use is 1964, seeing service almost exclusively with CIDG & other regional militia forces, as well as upon custom garments for US and ARVN military personnel. Although not always visible in every example of the pattern, the clear black outline of an erect phallus can be observed in some extant samples. This has prompted some within the collecting community to nickname it the "penis pattern." It has been suggested that this imagery was incorporated into the pattern as a kind of impudent slight to the indigenous tribes that were part of the CIDG program, but as yet this information is only anecdotal and has not been officially substantiated except as rumor. Fabric is heavyweight cotton twill, printed in a four-color scheme incorporating bold, black stripes with light tan and brown highlights on a foliage green background.

• Introduced mid-war (1969), the "splotched" tiger pattern seen here, featuring blotchy black stripes over a background comprising two shades of olive green upon a greyish-tan background, is only known to have seen service with CIDG units. It is often just called "CIDG" (historically pronounced "sid-jee") pattern.

• Most sources suggest the pattern seen here was introduced very late in the war, probably in 1974. Nicknamed "Thai Late War Large" or simply "Thai Large," the pattern reflects an enlargement of the typical "tadpole" design, making all the features significantly larger than previous incarnations. This design appears to have been used only by the Vietnamese Marine Corps (VNMC). Colors are originally black, dark moss green and olive green on a pale olive green background, but even with light use (as is typical with many of the dyes used during the war) the black generally faded to more of a purple color. A version printed on ripstop fabric is also known to exist, although it is unlikely to have seen actual service with Vietnamese units.

Other Tiger Stripe Camouflage Patterns

• Outside of Vietnam, Thailand has been one of the most prolific manufacturers of tiger stripe designs since the Vietnam War. Illustrated below are a handful of these patterns.

• Another major producer of tiger patterns has been Ecuador, well known for its "red" or "orange" tiger designs seen below.

• El Salvador produced its own crude copy of tiger stripe camouflage during its long civil war.

• Members of the Guyana Defence Force wear a bright green tiger pattern.

• The Philippines have also produced quite a number of variants of tiger pattern over the years, some of which are still in use by special units.

• Special operations units of the Russian Ministry of Interior and Armed Forces have worn variations of the tiger stripe design since the early 1990s.

• Dating to the 1960s, the vertical pattern seen below was produced in South Korea and is printed on heavy cotton HBT fabric. Surviving samples of this pattern suggest it was privately acquired by US military personnel and may have been worn in theater during the Vietnam War, or on TDY in Asia.

Commercial Tiger Patterns

Widespread production of tiger stripe camouflage patterns for commercial sale grew out of their popularity with special operations personnel during the Vietnam War, and the subsequent association with elite status by neighboring Asian countries during the immediate postwar years. It is easy to postulate that most of the major factories in Asia producing other types of fabrics for commercial sporting purposes at one time or another probably produced some sort of tiger pattern, if not a number of them. Insofar as we are aware, there has been no attempt to catalogue the variety of commercially sold tiger patterns since the mid-1970s, much less to track down and catalogue the individual factories or companies that produced them. In many cases, uniforms sold in military surplus stores or out of adventurer magazines in the 1980s and beyond were often labeled only with the name of the company that marketed them, rather than the one that manufactured them. This leaves collectors of tiger patterns in a quandry over how to categorize or even document the vast number of tiger stripe designs that have hit eh commercial markets for the past fifty years. As a documentarian almost exclusively of military issue camouflage designs, I have never developed a habit of collecting commercially sold tiger garments, but will upload these as I find them (or as they are submitted by visitors) so that we may begin some sort of record documenting the huge number of designs out there.

• The pattern here is an accurate copy of the Vietnam war era "tadpole sparse" design, as designated in Richard D. Johnson's book, Tiger Patterns. The garment from which this tile was created was manufactured by Propper International in the 1996 contract year, and does have the contract number that Propper uses for military contracts, so it may have actually been sold to the US military at some point.

• Bearing some similarities to late-war camouflage designs, including those made in Thailand, the pattern seen below is a classic example of a commercial tiger design that is not directly derived from the Vietnam War era prints. Additionally, the color palette is considerably darker than those printed during the 1960s, using black, medium-to-dark brown, and dark olive green stripes on a light olive green background. This design, and many like it, were quite commonly encountered in military surplus/outfitter stores during the late 1980s and well beyond the 1990s. The exact source for this tile is from a Rothco garment, made in China in the early 2000s.

• This tiger pattern appears to be based on the same set of screens as the above, but having much finer detail to the individual stripes, particularly the black stripes, which have small open regions or "islands" interspersed along their length. The color palette has a more greenish appearance, with the brown and olive shades blending into each other, rather than contrasting with each other. This design, although marketed by the US Company Atlanco, was probably printed in China for export in the 2000s.

• Featuring a virtually identical colorway to the above design, this tiger pattern has blotchier stripes and a much shorter repeat pattern. Again, it does not appear to have been copied from a 1960s era design, but may have been roughly influenced by one or more of them. The fabric is heavy ripstop, produced in China and marketed by the C.O.R.P. Incorporated company.