Characteristics of camouflage fabric
Camouflage uniform is a basic type of training uniform. It is a new protective color with irregular patterns composed of green, yellow, tea, black and other colors. The camouflage uniform requires that its reflected light waves are roughly the same as those reflected by the surrounding scenery. It can not only confuse the enemy's visual reconnaissance, but also deal with infrared reconnaissance, making it difficult for the enemy's modern reconnaissance instruments to capture targets.
1. The origin of camouflage uniforms:
The earliest use of camouflage color military uniforms was the British army. In December 1864, British Captain Harry Banat Ramsteen organized the irregular army "British Army Reconnaissance Team" in the Peshawar area of Pakistan. When making the military uniforms for the reconnaissance team, Ramsteen selected khaki military uniforms in order to facilitate camouflage during reconnaissance in view of the local characteristics of exposed loess soil and strong winds and sand. In subsequent combat operations, this kind of military uniform played a better camouflage effect.
Originating from the camouflage clothing of Scottish bird hunters, the prototype of camouflage clothing can be traced back to Scotland’s “Ghillie Suit”. This was originally a camouflage tool used by hunters. According to legend, it was invented by the hunter Ghillie. It was mainly used to hide in the jungle and paralyze birds for hunting. The original ghillie suit was a coat decorated with many ropes and strips of cloth. It was very effective in concealing itself in dense vegetation, making it difficult for even alert birds to detect it.
Ghillie suits became popular during World War II and were renamed "sniper suits." A proper noun for a sniper.
In 1899, the British army invaded South Africa and fought the "British-Boer War" with the local Boers, who were descendants of the Dutch. The Boers had fewer troops and the British had more troops. The strength ratio between the two sides was about 1:5. However, the Boers discovered that the red military uniforms worn by the British troops were particularly eye-catching among the green of the forests and savannahs of South Africa and were easily exposed. The Boers were inspired by this and immediately changed their clothing and guns to grass green to make it easier to hide in the dense grass jungle. The Boers often approached the British army without knowing what was happening and launched sudden attacks, catching the British army by surprise. However, the British army could not find the target if they wanted to attack. Although the British army ultimately won the war, the British army suffered more than 90,000 casualties, far exceeding the number of casualties suffered by the Boer army.
This war made European countries realize the importance of camouflage on modern battlefields, and they changed the color of bright military uniforms to green or yellow to achieve concealment. After World War I, the emergence of various optical reconnaissance equipment made it difficult for soldiers wearing single-color military uniforms to adapt to multiple-color background environments. In 1929, Italy developed the world's earliest camouflage uniforms, which came in four colors: brown, yellow, green and tan. In 1943, Germany equipped some soldiers with three-color camouflage uniforms. This kind of camouflage uniform is full of irregularly shaped three-color patches. On the one hand, these patches can distort the outline of the human body. On the other hand, the color of some of the patches is approximately the same as the background color, and some of the patches are obviously different from the background color. The human body shape is visually segmented to achieve the effect of camouflage deformation.
The German camouflage uniforms achieved very good results in actual combat. Later, armies from various countries followed suit and conducted research and improvements on the color of the camouflage and the shape of the patches. The newly developed camouflage uniforms after the 1960s are made of synthetic chemical fibers, which are not only superior to the original cotton material in terms of preventing visible light reconnaissance, but also have special chemical substances mixed into the color dyes, which improve the infrared light reflection ability of the camouflage uniforms. The reflective ability is roughly similar to that of the surrounding scenery, so it has a certain camouflage effect against infrared light reconnaissance. Nowadays, camouflage is not only used on soldiers' uniforms and sand helmets, but also on various military vehicles, artillery, aircraft and other military equipment.
2. Main features of camouflage fabric:
Digital camouflage, also known as digital camouflage, is a new camouflage technology that uses computer layout to simulate natural environment images with densely packed small squares. It can solve the problems of traditional camouflage color blocks such as unnatural connections between color blocks and poor bridging with the background. , coupled with the inherent anti-detection camouflage performance, greatly improves the camouflage effect of military uniforms within short distances.
"In the past, the camouflage of military uniforms was drawn by hand, and there was a clear boundary between different colors. Using the visual principle of pixel dot matrix, the edges between different colors are blurred, and the camouflage is relatively high. Describe the camouflage of digital camouflage uniforms The effect “looks like a big flower from a distance, and like gravel from a close distance.”
The "invisibility" of camouflage clothing lies in the use of special dyes. The digital camouflage pattern of the "Type 07" combat training uniform can not only escape recognition by the naked eye, but also has the function of preventing detection in low light and part of the infrared band.
From the appearance, the "07-style" combat training uniform has changed the jacket style into a parka style, changed the epaulette military rank to a collar insignia, reserved a hidden nest for the walkie-talkie "routing" on the collar, set ventilation holes under the armpits, and added cufflinks. To facilitate rolling up the sleeves on hot days.
The designers also significantly increased the wear resistance index of the Type 07 training uniform from more than 140 times in the "Type 87" to more than 700 times.
The combat training uniforms distributed are only used for soldiers' daily training. Designers have developed combat uniforms with higher individual soldier protection capabilities and will be distributed on demand at an appropriate time.
The new combat training uniforms will also equip officers and soldiers with new combat boots with flame-retardant uppers, stab-proof soles, and rubber double-density injection technology. The weight of each shoe is reduced by 100 grams, which enhances comfort and functionality.
3. Three functions of camouflage uniforms:
1. Identification function. It is an important symbol that distinguishes the armies of different countries, different branches of services, the army and the people. Although the purpose of camouflage uniforms is basically the same among the armies of more than 100 countries in the world, no two countries' camouflage uniforms are exactly the same.
2. Symbolic function. To a certain extent, camouflage uniforms are not only a reflection of a country's spiritual outlook and national characteristics, but also a concentrated expression of a country's military combat capabilities and military qualities. Among the three categories of military uniforms: dress uniforms, regular uniforms, and camouflage uniforms, camouflage uniforms can best display national and military power.
3. Protective function. With the rapid development of high-tech weapons and equipment, the comprehensive protective performance of new camouflage training uniforms has been improved, making the camouflage uniforms bulletproof, anti-detection, anti-chemical, anti-bacterial, anti-radiation, as well as temperature, humidity, air conditioning, etc. Various functions have become the primary issue in the development of camouflage uniforms.