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Tiger stripe
Tiger stripe
	Sample tiger stripe fabric
Type	Military camouflage pattern
Place of origin	Unknown (Likely South Vietnam or United States)
Service history
In service	1962 c. - present
Used by	See Users
Wars	Vietnam War; Gulf War; War in Afghanistan (2001–2021); Russo-Ukrainian War
Production history
Designer	Numerous
Manufacturer	Numerous

Tiger stripe is the name of a group of camouflage patterns developed for close-range use in dense jungle during jungle warfare by the South Vietnamese Armed Forces and adopted in late 1962 to early 1963 by US Special Forces during the Vietnam War.^[1] 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'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 (TAP47) from which it apparently derives.

History

It is unclear who developed the first tiger stripe pattern, consisting of 64 stripes. The French used a similar pattern called "lizard" in the First Indochina War.^[2] After the French left Vietnam, the Republic of Vietnam Marine Division began using a derived pattern which differed in having interlocking elements instead of overlapping ones.^[3] Variants of the pattern were later adopted by Vietnamese Rangers (Biệt Động Quân)^[3] and Special Forces (Lực Lượng Đặc Biệt). When the United States began sending advisors to South Vietnam, USMAAG advisors attached to the ARVN were authorized to wear their Vietnamese unit's combat uniform with US insignia.^[3] Soon, many American special operations forces in the Vietnamese theater of operations wore the pattern, despite not always being attached to ARVN units.^[2]^[3]

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 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.^[3]^[4] They were made in both Asian and US sizes.^[3]

During the latter stages of the war, tiger stripe was gradually replaced in American reconnaissance units by the then-new ERDL pattern,^[2] a predecessor of the US four-color woodland pattern. The Special Forces-advised Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) used tiger stripe from 1963 until disbanded in 1971. Special Forces personnel wore tiger stripe when conducting operations with the CIDG.^[4]

Besides American and ARVN forces, Australian and New Zealand military personnel used tiger stripe uniforms while on advisory duty with the ARVN units.^[5] Personnel from the Australian Special Air Service Regiment and the New Zealand Special Air Service were the principal wearers of tiger-stripe uniforms^[2] (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.^{[citation needed]}

The pattern was tested by the USMC prior to the adoption of MARPAT through the Scout Sniper Instructor School.^[6]

Users

Current

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan: Used by Taliban forces.^[7]
Argentina: Used by the Grupo Especial de Operaciones Federales (Argentina).^[8]
France: Used by French Foreign Legion forces in French Guiana under the Army Jungle Warfare School.^[9]
Iraq: A desert tiger stripe variant consisting of four shades of brown was known to be used by Iraqi commandos.^[10]^{[better source needed]}
Philippines: Used by the Philippine Army Special Forces and the Philippine Navy NAVSOCOM (Naval Special Operations Command).^[11]
Russia: Used by the MVD and other Russian law enforcement agencies as the Kamysh (Reed)^[12] or Tigr (Tiger).^[13]Various security agencies, notably OMON, have used an urban variant known as Ten′ (Shadow), which uses various shades of blue in place of the Kamysh design's more standard woodland coloration.^[14] The Kamysh is based on Malaysian-made tiger stripe patterns adopted for Russian use.^[12]
Ukraine: Helikon-Tex made uniforms used by Armed Forces of Ukraine.^[15]
United States: Green and desert tiger stripe were used in Afghanistan by US Special Forces units.^[16] Used by Green Berets in OPFOR drills.^[17]

Former

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan: Used by National Directorate of Security forces.^[18]
Australia: Australian Special Air Service Regiment (Vietnam War)^[3]
Croatia: Used local copies made in Croatia by the Croatian National Guard.^[19]
Guyana: Used by the GDF ground forces and Coast Guard.^[20]
Khmer Republic: Formerly used in the 1970s.^[21]
Kingdom of Laos: Formerly used by the Royal Lao Armed Forces and the paramilitary Special Guerrilla Units.^{[citation needed]}
Paraguay: Some Paraguayan military units used tiger stripe patterns made for the ROC military^[22] before they were replaced by digital patterns.^[23]
Philippines: Used by the Special Action Force during the EDSA Revolution.^[24]
New Zealand: New Zealand Special Air Service (Vietnam War)^[3]
South Vietnam: Used by ARVN Rangers, CIDGs and Marines^[25]^[26]
Taiwan: Used by the Republic of China Marine Corps.^{[citation needed]}
Thailand: Used by Thai special forces units.^[27] One version of the pattern is made with darker camo dyes with a pale background color, known as Shadowtiger.^[28]
Ukraine: Formerly used by Ukrainian Berkut forces prior to being disbanded.^[29]
United States: Used by American soldiers advising the ARVN.^[25] and by American special forces operating in Vietnam.^[17]^[2]

Non-state actors

Khmer People's National Liberation Front: Used Thai-made tigerstripe camos in the 1980s.^[21]
Shan State Army: Known to be used in the 1980s.^[30]

References

^ Modern Warfare, Published by Mark Dartford, Marshall Cavendish (London) 1985
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Dougherty (2017), p. 64.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Trousers, Camouflage, 'Tiger Stripe': ARVN / US Special Forces". Imperial War Museums.
^ ^a ^b Rottman (2008), p. 20.
^ McNab, Chris (2002). 20th Century Military Uniforms (2nd ed.). Kent, UK: Grange Books. pp. 278, 308. ISBN 1-84013-476-3.
^ "Combat Utility Uniform Camouflage Considerations". September 20, 2001. Archived from the original on 2001-09-20.
^ "Inside the CIA's secret Kabul base, burned out and abandoned in haste". TheGuardian.com. 3 October 2021.
^ Larson (2021), p. 127.
^ Larson (2021), pp. 384.
^ "Camouflage: Form or Function?". 11 June 2013.
^ Larson (2021), pp. 298–299.
^ ^a ^b "Russian Camo: What Camouflage Does Russia Use ?". April 2020.
^ Larson (2021), p. 433.
^ Larson (2021), p. 434.
^ AREV, B-. "Tigerstripe-style camouflage used by Ukrainian forces; the exact time and location are unknown". x.com.^{[better source needed]}
^ "The Pic of the Day: Nothing screams Pipe-Hitter more than Tiger Stripes camo". 5 September 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Throwback tiger stripes could get more use among Green Berets". Stars and Stripes.
^ "Afghan NDS continues crackdown on counterfeit uniforms". Long War Journal. 2011-09-05. Archived from the original on 2019-10-09. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
^ Larson (2021), p. 368.
^ https://kommandopost.com/2016/01/03/guyana-tiger-stripe-cloth-1990s/
^ ^a ^b Larson (2021), p. 207.
^ Larson (2021), p. 172.
^ Larson (2021), p. 173.
^ Conboy (1991), p. 60.
^ ^a ^b "The Complex Guide to Camo". Complex Networks. Archived from the original on 2018-08-10. Retrieved 2018-08-10.
^ "The Vietnamese Marine Corps". msuweb.montclair.edu.
^ Conboy (1991), p. 58.
^ Larson (2021), p. 330.
^ Galeotti (2019), p. 5.
^ Larson (2021), p. 282.

Sources

Conboy, Kenneth (1991). South-East Asian Special Forces. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1855321069.
Dougherty, Martin (2017). Camouflage at War: An Illustrated Guide from 1914 to the Present Day. Amber Books. ISBN 978-1782744986.
Galeotti, Mark (2019). Armies of Russia's War in Ukraine. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1472833440.
Johnson, Richard Denis (1999). Tiger Patterns: A Guide to the Vietnam War's Tigerstripe Combat Fatigue Patterns and Uniforms. Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7643-0756-0.
Larson, Eric H. (2021). Camouflage: International Ground Force Patterns, 1946–2017. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 9781526739537.
Rottman, Gordon L. (2008). US Army Long-Range Patrol Scout in Vietnam 1965-71. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1846032509.