Tiger stripe is the name of a group of
camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...
patterns developed for close-range use in dense jungle during
jungle warfare
Jungle warfare is a term used to cover the special techniques needed for military units to survive and fight in jungle terrain.
It has been the topic of extensive study by military strategists, and was an important part of the planning for bo ...
by the
South Vietnamese Armed Forces and adopted in late 1962 to early 1963 by US Special Forces during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. During and after the Vietnam War, the pattern was adopted by several other Asian countries. It derives its name from its resemblance to a
tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...
's stripes and were simply called "tigers." It features narrow stripes that look like brush-strokes of green and brown, and broader brush-strokes of black printed over a lighter shade of olive or khaki. The brush-strokes interlock rather than overlap, as in French
Lizard pattern
The lizard pattern (TAP47 pattern or Leopard pattern for the French) is a family of many related designs of military camouflage pattern, first used by the French Army on uniforms from 1947 to the late 1980s. It was based on the British paratroo ...
(TAP47) from which it apparently derives.
History
![Jungle_Combat_Vietnam](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Jungle_Combat_Vietnam.jpg)
It is unclear who developed the first tiger stripe pattern, consisting of 64 stripes. The French used a similar pattern called "
lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
" in the
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...
. After the French left Vietnam, the
Republic of Vietnam Marine Division
The Republic of Vietnam Marine Division (RVNMD, vi, Sư Đoàn Thủy Quân Lục Chiến QLC was part of the armed forces of South Vietnam. It was established by Ngo Dinh Diem in 1954 when he was Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam, which be ...
began using a derived pattern which differed in having interlocking elements instead of overlapping ones.
Variants of the pattern were later adopted by
Vietnamese Rangers
The Vietnamese Rangers ( vi, Biệt Động Quân), commonly known as the ARVN Rangers, were the light infantry of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Trained and assisted by American Special Forces and Ranger advisers, the Vietnamese Rangers ...
(Biệt Động Quân)
and
Special Forces
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
(Lực Lượng Đặc Biệt). When the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
began
sending advisors to
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
, USMAAG advisors attached to the
ARVN
The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. It is estimated to have suffe ...
were authorized to wear their Vietnamese unit's combat uniform with US insignia.
Soon, many American
special operations forces
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
in the Vietnamese theater of operations wore the pattern, despite not always being attached to ARVN units.
Tiger stripe was never an official US-issue item. Personnel permitted to wear it at first had their camo fatigues custom-made by local tailors, with ARVN uniforms being too small for most Americans; for this reason there were many variations of the basic tiger stripe pattern. In 1963, Marine Corps Advisors and from 1964,
5th Special Forces Group
The 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (5th SFG (A)) is one of the most decorated active duty United States Army Special Forces groups in the U.S. armed forces. The 5th SFG (A) saw extensive action in the Vietnam War and played a pivotal role i ...
of the Green Berets contracted with Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian producers to make fatigues and other items such as
boonie hats using tiger stripe fabric. Being manufactured by different producers in places like Thailand, Korea and Okinawa, Japan, there was a wide variety of patterns and color shade variations.
They were made in both Asian and US sizes.
During the latter stages of the war, tiger stripe was gradually replaced in American reconnaissance units by the then-new
ERDL
The United States Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory (ERDL) was a United States Army Corps of Engineers research facility located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
History
The ERDL was formed in 1947 when the Army's Engineer Board was re ...
pattern, a predecessor of the
US four-color woodland pattern. The Special Forces-advised
Civilian Irregular Defense Group
The Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG, pronounced "sid-gee") was a military program developed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the Vietnam War, which was intended to develop South Vietnamese irregular military units from indig ...
(CIDG) used tiger stripe from 1963 until disbanded in 1971. Special Forces personnel wore tiger stripe when conducting operations with the CIDG.
![NAVSOG at the SEACAT 2018 Exercise 002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/NAVSOG_at_the_SEACAT_2018_Exercise_002.jpg)
Besides American and ARVN forces,
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
military personnel used tiger stripe uniforms while on advisory duty with the ARVN units.
Personnel from the Australian
Special Air Service Regiment
The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins". The reg ...
and the
New Zealand Special Air Service
The 1st New Zealand Special Air Service Regiment, abbreviated as 1 NZSAS Regt, was formed on 7 July 1955 and is the Special forces unit of the New Zealand Army, closely modelled on the British Special Air Service (SAS). It traces its origins to ...
were the principal wearers of tiger-stripe uniforms (and ERDL uniforms) in theater, while regular Australian and New Zealand troops wore the standard-issue olive drab green uniforms.
Outside of Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines have been the most prolific manufacturers of tiger stripe designs since the Vietnam War. The pattern became popular throughout the Middle East and South America as well.
The pattern was tested by the USMC prior to the adoption of
MARPAT
MARPAT (short for Marine pattern) is a multi-scale camouflage pattern in use with the United States Marine Corps, designed in 2001 and introduced from late 2002 to early 2005 with the Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform (MCCUU), which replaced ...
through the Scout Sniper Instructor School.
Users
Current
* : Used by Taliban forces.
* : Used by the
Grupo Especial de Operaciones Federales (Argentina)
The Grupo Especial de Operaciones Federales (''Federal Operations Special Group'', GEOF) is a police tactical unit of the Policía Federal Argentina trained to strategically perform counterterrorist and counternarcotics missions. It is also used ...
.
* : Used by
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...
forces in
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
under the Army Jungle Warfare School.
* : A desert tiger stripe variant consisting of four shades of brown was known to be used by Iraqi commandos.
* : Used by the Philippine Army Special Forces and the Philippine Navy NAVSOCOM (Naval Special Operations Command).
* : Used by the MVD and other Russian law enforcement agencies as the ''Kamysh'' (Reed)
or ''Tigr'' (Tiger). OMON has used an urban variant known as ''Ten′'' (Shadow), which uses various shades of blue in place of the Kamysh design's more standard coloration. The Kamysh is based on Malaysian-made tiger stripe patterns adopted for Russian use.
* : Green and desert tiger stripe were used in Afghanistan by US Special Forces units. Used by Green Berets in
OPFOR
An opposing force (alternatively enemy force, abbreviated OPFOR) is a military unit tasked with representing an enemy, usually for training purposes in war game scenarios. The related concept of aggressor squadron is used by some air forces. ...
drills.
Former
* : Used by National Directorate of Security forces.
* :
Australian Special Air Service Regiment
The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins". The re ...
(Vietnam War)
* : Used local copies made in Croatia by the Croatian National Guard.
* : Formerly used in the 1970s.
* : Some Paraguayan military units used tiger stripe patterns made for the ROC military before they were replaced by digital patterns.
* : Was used by the Special Action Force during the EDSA Revolution.
* :
New Zealand Special Air Service
The 1st New Zealand Special Air Service Regiment, abbreviated as 1 NZSAS Regt, was formed on 7 July 1955 and is the Special forces unit of the New Zealand Army, closely modelled on the British Special Air Service (SAS). It traces its origins to ...
(Vietnam War)
* : Used by
ARVN Rangers
The Vietnamese Rangers ( vi, Biệt Động Quân), commonly known as the ARVN Rangers, were the light infantry of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Trained and assisted by American Special Forces and Ranger advisers, the Vietnamese Ranger ...
, CIDGs and
Marines
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
* : Used by the
Republic of China Marine Corps
The Republic of China Marine Corps (ROCMC; ), also known colloquially as the Taiwan Marine Corps, is the amphibious arm of the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) responsible for amphibious combat, counter-landing and reinforcement of the areas under th ...
* : Used by Thai special forces units. One version of the pattern is made with darker camo dyes with a pale background color, known as ''Shadowtiger''.
* : Formerly used by
Ukrainian Berkut forces prior to being disbanded.
* : Was used by American soldiers advising the ARVN.
and by American special forces operating in Vietnam.
Non-state actors
*
Khmer People's National Liberation Front
The Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF, km, រណសិរ្សរំដោះជាតិប្រជាជនខ្មែរ) was a political front organized in 1979 in opposition to the Vietnamese-installed People's Republic of ...
: Used Thai-made tigerstripe camos in the 1980s.
*
Shan State Army
The Shan State Army ( my, သျှမ်းပြည်တပ်မတော်; abbreviated SSA) was one of the largest insurgent groups that fought government forces in Shan State, Myanmar (Burma). The SSA was founded in 1964 after the ...
: Known to be used in the 1980s.
See also
*
Airman Battle Uniform
The Airman Battle Uniform (ABU) is a U.S. camouflage combat uniform formerly worn by members of the United States Air Force, United States Space Force, and some civilian employees of the U.S. Department of the Air Force until April 2021. It repl ...
References
Sources
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External links
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{{Camouflage
Camouflage patterns
Military uniforms
Military equipment introduced in the 1960s