Battledress, in the general sense, is the type of uniform used as Combat uniforms, as opposed to 'display' dress or formal uniform worn at parades and functions. It may be either monochrome (often a shade of green or brown) or in camouflage colours. The first purpose-made and widely issued camouflage garments were used by the Italian Army after the First World War; most nations developed camouflage uniforms during the Second World War, though in many cases they were issued widely only among "elite" units.
Currently, Australian troops wear a multicolour camouflage called Disruptive Pattern Camouflage Uniform (more commonly called DPCU or Auscam), shades to suit Australia's terrain. It was developed by entering the colours of the Australian landscape into a computer program and the present battle dress was the result.
There are three variations, the original design which is most commonly used, another for use in desert environments and a third for use by OPFOR units in training exercises.
Canada's battledress developed parallel to that of the British from 1900 to 1950, though always with significant differences, and then increasingly followed the US pattern of separate uniforms for separate functions, becoming distinctively "Canadian" in the process and utilizing CADPAT design.
The first true battledress adopted by Canada for standard issue across the board was the khaki field uniform known as Service Dress, adopted in 1907. This was of a separate pattern from the British Service Dress adopted after the Boer War, and marked a departure in Canadian uniforms in that it was distinct from the scarlet/blue/rifle green uniforms traditionally worn to that point, the latter of which became "ceremonial" dress for parades and other functions apart from field training.
Canadian pattern Service Dress worn by Other Ranks did not stand up to the rigours of campaigning, however, and was widely replaced by British uniforms in France; some samples of Canadian pattern SD were retained in Canada, and after the war, surviving to be issued briefly in 1939.
Officers wore a distinctive pattern of Service Dress (as did Warrant Officers I Class), which was identical to that worn by British officers; they were privately purchased, and of better quality than Other Ranks uniform. In combat in France and Flanders, they were often replaced on an individual basis by Other Ranks' Service Dress, to make them less visible to enemy snipers and soldiers.
Khaki Drill was a series of different uniform patterns of light khaki cloth, generally cotton, first worn by Canadian soldiers in the Boer War and reserved for summer training in Canada, or for employment in tropical climates. Canada developed its own pattern after the First World War, and the uniform was commonly worn in Canada, with officers again having the option of finer garments privately purchased. In the Second World War, Canadians serving in Jamaica and Hong Kong wore Canadian pattern KD; the I Canadian Corps troops in Italy wore KD supplied in theatre by the British, generally of British, Indian or US (War Aid) manufacture.
In 1939, the Battle Dress uniform was adopted as a field uniform; made of wool and patterned after British BD, Canadian uniforms were darker in colour with a distinctive green tinge to the dark khaki colour. Officers had the option of having BD tailored from better material, but in the field most wore "off the rack" BD, perhaps with a modified open collar.
Service Dress was worn in 1939 and into 1940 by soldiers in Canada as field dress, and afterwards was no longer issued except to a select few. While a new pattern of Service Dress was introduced for Other Ranks in this period, it was reserved for dress wear only. Battle Dress completely replaced SD as a field uniform beginning in 1940 as enough of the new uniforms became available.
A new pattern of BD was introduced in 1949, with an open collar matching that of British Pattern 1949 BD. The garment was worn as a field dress throughout the Korean War, and into the 1960s until replaced by the Combat uniform. Some Militia units used BD as a dress uniform until the early 1970s, but field use had probably been phased out by then.
The US Army produced its own version of the BD blouse for issue to soldiers in Europe. Although most of these were produced in England, they were of a dark green colour, rather than khaki. Called the ETO (European Theatre of Operations) jacket, American soldiers dubbed it the Ike Jacket, after General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The green combat uniform became universal battledress in the 1960s, and was designed to be worn in any environment (though a tan coloured "tropical" version was worn during Operation Desert Storm and by the Airborne in Somalia).
The Canadian pattern combat uniform had angled pockets, designed to take magazines from the FN C1A1 assault rifle; a truly poor design of infantry load bearing equipment inspired this design - the 1964 Pattern Web Equipment had no ammunition pouches. The angled pockets are repeated on the new CADPAT uniform, though they are enlarged and not intended for ammunition carriage.
The Canadian combat uniform had a high nylon content, which had the potential for producing significant burns.
In Canada, battledress is referred to officially as "No. 5 Operational Dress", and in general parlance as "combat uniform" or "combats". The new Canadian Disruptive Pattern uniform is commonly called "CADPAT" to diffentiate it from the previous uniform called "combat" The term combat now refers to the old monochrome (single color) combat uniform.
support">http://www.himfr.com/buy-support_hosiery/">support hosieryCurrently, the Canadian Forces use the four-colour CADPAT design, a computer-generated pixelated pattern issued in TW (temperate woodland) and AR (arid region) colours. Camouflage cloth of CADPAT pattern was created and adopted in 1995, used for issue helmet covers in 1997 and trousers and blouses in CADPAT began to replace the Olive Green combat uniform from 2001 when Canadian forces joined the UN peacekeepers in Bosnia-Hercegovina. The AR version was introduced when Canadian troops were deployed to Afghanistan. Previously, a tan version of the olive combats had been used for tropical wear by soldiers deployed to the Middle East, particularly during Operation Desert Storm and were to be worn by the Canadian Airborne Regiment (Cdn Ab Regt) for the (subsequently canceled) deployment the Western Sahara in 1991. They were later worn by the Cdn Ab Regt during their deployment to Somalia. The TAN colored combat uniform was also issued to Canadian troops serving in the Western Sahara with the UN Mission (MINURSO) during 1992-1993.
Until well into the post-World War II era, the Canadian Army had worn battle dress uniforms similar to their British and Commonwealth counterparts, though with different national identifiers and regimental accoutrements (with Khaki Drill uniforms being worn in the summer or in tropical regions). In the early 1950s, battle dress began to be replaced with lightweight uniforms, at first Bush Dress for summer wear, and in the 1960s with Combat Dress, a set of Olive Drab garments more similar to the American style of combat wear (ie made up of layers and solely for wear in the field as opposed to all-purpose wool Battle Dress).
Specialist battledress was developed primarily during the Second World War, including the Denison smock - originally for parachutists but also adopted by snipers. Specialized jump clothing was perpetuated by the Canadian Airborne Regiment who wore distinctive disruptive-pattern jump smocks from 1975 until disbandment in 1995.
Special patterns of AFV uniform were also worn beginning in the Second World War, initially black coveralls, later khaki coveralls as well as the padded "Pixie suit". Olive drab tanker's uniforms were adopted with the Combat uniform in the 1960s, including a distinctive padded jacket with angled front zip.
The Canadian Army has made extensive use of plain coveralls as a field uniform, commonly using khaki coveralls in the Second World War to save wear and tear on wool BD. In the 1950s and 1960, the Canadian military adopted black coveralls which were often worn as combat dress, replacing them in the 1970s with rifle green coveralls. These were worn in the field in Canada by units in training but are also evident in photos of men deployed to West Germany during the Cold War, as armoured and mechanized units sometimes preferred to wear coveralls when carrying out maintenance.
The Canadian Army has made extensive use of plain coveralls as a field uniform, commonly using khaki coveralls in the Second World War to save wear and tear on wool BD. In the 1950s and 1960, the Canadian military adopted black coveralls which were often worn as combat dress, replacing them in the 1970s with rifle green coveralls. These were worn in the field in Canada by units in training but are also evident in photos of men deployed to West Germany during the Cold War, as armoured and mechanized units sometimes preferred to wear coveralls when carrying out maintenance.
