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Uncover your potential', indeed! Once you stop ogling the girl, though, you might notice that this Australian Special Air Service (SAS) recruiting poster shows Australian Disruptive Pattern Camouflage to very good effect. [Image courtesy Brad Turner collection.]

'lime' ERDL pattern
United States of America

Originally developed by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory (ERDL) in 1948, this camouflage pattern was used by U.S. Armed Forces in Vietnam. It was issued to U.S. Army special units, from February 1967, and to all U.S. Marines, from the winter of 1968–69.

The ERDL camouflage pattern is a four-colour design, comprising large brown and medium green swathes, and smaller black 'branches', on a light-coloured background. Also known as 'lowland' ERDL camouflage, this so-called 'lime' pattern has a green background colour, which was presumably intended for use in forest environments. Another version — the 'brown' or 'highland' pattern — has a light brown background, and was probably intended for use in mountainous and arid terrains. However, the American quartermasters did not seem to distinguish between the two version; they even had the same stock number.

Also known as 'leaf pattern', examples of both 'lowlands' and 'highlands' ERDL camouflage were shipped to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, where they inspired the three-colour camouflage uniform (трёхцветная камуфлированная одежда, trans. tryokhtsvetnaya kamuflirovannaya odezhda, TTsKO) family of camouflage patterns.

In the United States, too, the original ERDL pattern continued to evolve. Its most recent evolution was the U.S. woodland camouflage pattern, which was introduced, in 1981, with the new Battle Dress Uniforms (BDU).

kamouflage.net is grateful to Henrik Clausen, for his invaluable contribution to this article.

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