Czechoslovakia
Czech Republic
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Official Name
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Letní maskovancí odev se skvrnami - varianta 1-4 (?) |
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Years Used
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Mid 1950s - 1960s |
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Used By
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Army |
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Known Items
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Para Smock, Two piece Sniper/Scout Oversuit |
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Notes
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I think this uniform is officially designated Letní maskovancí odev se skvrnami - varianta 1-4 (Loose translation = Camouflage Oversuit, Reverse to Splotch - Variants 1-4). During the 1950s and 60s it was common for Warsaw Pact countries to adopt sniper suits modeled after the famous Soviet WWII pattern. The common features are overpants with waist drawstring, overtop with attached mittens at the end of the sleeves, and large oversized hood with face veil.
The top two samples come from reversible Sniper/Scout trousers, the bottom two from matching reversible top. The Sniper/Scout set I have was reworked into a more traditional oversuit. Pass through pockets are sewn shut and a button fly added in place of a draw string closure. I know of other identical reworked sets so it would appear this was a systematic factory based effort, not something done in the field. The same brown pattern as top right sample was also used for a one sided heavy weight para smock. |
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Extra Info
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None at this time |
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Official Name
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letní maskovací odev s vpleteny´m zeleny´m ly´kem (?) |
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Years Used
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Mid 1950s - 1960s |
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Used By
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Army |
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Known Items
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Two piece Sniper/Scout Oversuit, inside of Winter Trousers |
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Notes
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I belive the designation of this suit is letní maskovací odev s vpleteny´m zeleny´m ly´kem, which I can not fully translate. This is the same consturction as the above set. The colors of the Ameeoba side of this reversible set imply some inspiration from the late WWII German Liebermuster pattern, even though the shapes are quite different. The Clouds side is uniquely different than the ones above, having all three colors green instead of one or two a brown color.
I have a pair of insulated, no reversable winter trousers from this era made with this material on the inside (Cloud side visible). Perhaps the factory used up outdated bolts of cloth in order to economize materials? |
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Extra Info
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None at this time |
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Official Name
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(?) |
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Years Used
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Mid 1950s - 1960s |
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Used By
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Army |
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Known Items
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Two piece Sniper/Scout Oversuit |
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Notes
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I belive this to be the final Sniper/Scout Oversuit pattern. The construction is the same as the previous models, but is a solid green material with one side having fake "grass" sewn under vertical ribs. |
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Extra Info
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None at this time |
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Official Name
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vz.60 |
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Years Used
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1961-1970 (?) |
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Used By
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Airborne |
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Known Items
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Jacket, Para Jacket, Trousers, Cap |
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Notes
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This pattern was nicknamed Mlok or Mloky (Salamander) by the Czechs. It was likely derrived from a late WWII Italian color variation of 1929 "telo mimetico". It is known that the Italian pattern was produced and/or sewn into garments within Czechoslovakia towards the end of WWII. In fact, the first domestically produced Czech Para Smock was made from the Italian material, as were Shelter Halves. |
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Extra Info
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None at this time |
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Official Name
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vz.60 Jehlici |
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Years Used
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1963 (?) - 1980s |
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Used By
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Army |
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Known Items
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Shirt, two styles of Parka, Trousers, Cap, Hood |
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Notes
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The designation for this uniform is somewhat confusing. Firstly, it was introduced at the same time as the previous Mlok pattern and therefore received the same designation. Secondly, for whatever reason the Czechs call this Oblak (or Oblaky), which translates to "Clouds". This description is more applicable to the earlier oversuit patterns and is in fact what most collectors call those patterns. Thankfully th Czechs also called this pattern Jehlici, which means "Needles" in English.
There are three main variations of this pattern: Dark on Light, Light on Dark, and Invisible. Dark on Light has blobs of a darker green over a lighter grayish green base color. Light on Dark is just the opposite. These appear to have been early production uniforms with later ones being Invisible style where the pattern can only be seen from the underside of the cloth. Frequently this pattern is incorrectly called vz.75, although this could be a designation of later uniform cut. The earliest example of this pattern, that I know of, is dated 1963. It was around this time that Warsaw Pact countries decided to create a common uniform based around the Polish Rain pattern. Czechs created their own unique version with a pattern of "leopard" spots underneath gray rain streaks and background. Problem is that the spots are nearly impossible to see on most examples. I do have one item (pictured far left) that shows the pattern quite clearly. Usually it looks like the picture in the middle. If this were not odd enough, the spots are quite easily seen from the inside (see far left picture). The poor showing of the spots does not appear to come from wear. Very odd! |
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Extra Info
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None at this time |
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Official Name
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vz.85 and vz.95 |
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Years Used
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1993 (?) - Present |
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Used By
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Army |
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Known Items
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Light Shirt, Light Trousers, 4 Pocket Shirt, Trousers, Boonie, Brush Jacket, Parka, LBV, Parachute Bags |
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Notes
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The pattern is similar to the old US ERDL, but the Czech shapes are significantly longer and the colors brighter. The original light weight cut, vz.85, was based on the earlier solid green vz.85 uniform. However, this one appears to have been designed for warm climet peace keeping operations. It was still in production as of at least 1996. At this poinnt a heavier weight uniform, vz.95, was introduced as the standard uniform. It is possible that the earlier production vz.85 colors were slightly different, with a brighter green and more redish brown color. I am not entirely sure though as this could simply be production differences.
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Extra Info
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None at this time |
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Official Name
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(?) |
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Years Used
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1990s (?) |
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Used By
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Army (?) |
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Known Items
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Shirt, Trousers |
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Notes
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There is a tradition of making inexpensive, functional uniforms for use by soldiers when doing labor activities. The thought is that such activities are hard on uniforms and combat uniforms are more expensive to replace. While the cut of this Czech uniform is quite standard for former Warsaw Pact militaries, the fact that it is camo and not mono color is odd. The pattern itself is rather useless as it is too dark to be seen more than a few feet distance from the wearer. Both genuine army and commercially produced garments are out on the market now. The commercial items are made from a slightly different cloth and have a slightly darker pattern.
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Extra Info
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None at this time |
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Official Name
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(?) |
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Years Used
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1991 (?) - Present |
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Used By
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Army (?) |
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Known Items
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Shirt, Trousers, Boonie, Helmet Cover, Brush Jacket |
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Notes
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Text
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Extra Info
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None at this time |
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Official Name
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(?) |
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Years Used
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Produced 1990s (?) |
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Used By
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None |
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Known Items
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Shirt, Trousers, Boots, Ball Cap, Boonie, Winter Cap, Duffle Bag, Gasmask Bag |
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Notes
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Recently available pattern produced in the Czech Republic. The story goes that Czechoslovakia's limited participation in Desert Shield/Storm highlighted the need for a desert camouflage pattern uniform for future operations. Therefore, a contract was sought to fulfill this need. The official uniform turned out to be a two color variant of the vz.95 pattern.
It appears the pattern pictured above was made by a contractor in hopes of having it selected for adoption, which it wasn't. Instead of the company taking a loss on its R&D, it produced the uniform for the commercial market. Either that or the uniform was designed for the commercial market right from the start, which I doubt due to the types of items made in this pattern. Whichever the case may be, it is a very nice looking pattern. |
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Extra Info
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None at this time |