TCU "Tiger Stripe"

Tropical Combat Uniform "Tiger Stripe"



This camouflage pattern was developed for jungle warfare at extremely short ranges ( under 50 meters ). It was mainly used by MACV-SOG units and various other units in Vietnam ( e.g. CIDG, various ARVN units ) where it replaced the "Duck Hunter" camouflage garments of commercial origin. This pattern was later replaced by the ERDL pattern. The cut of the garment is very simple. There are four buttoned pockets on the blouse and six pockets on the trousers. The individual's carrying system was usually ALICE, often modified as needed. SOG units rarely used helmets, more common were berets, scarves and so-called "Jungle Hats", for protection from insects falling from trees. These camouflage garments were extremely popular with ARVN members because they gave the impression to the civilian population that they were elite units, which in fact was not true. This is also why the transition of US SOG units to the ERDL pattern was so rapid. There are several types of TCU Tiger Stripe uniforms of American, South Vietnamese and other manufacture. They are known by abbreviations that denote the type of camouflage pattern, e.g.


Late War, Heavyweight Dense pattern - LHD.
Late War, Lightweight Dense pattern - LLD.
Late War, Lightweight, Sparse pattern - LLS.
Tadpole Sparse pattern - TDS.
Vietnamese Marine Corp Dense second pattern - VMD



The first photos show a REPRODUCTION of this field garment. It is a TruSpec product. The Tiger Stripe pattern is to US Army standard MIL-T-44047E for the pants and MIL-C-44048G for the blouse. However, this only applies to the cut. The latter is essentially identical to the classic TCU in the color "Olive". For details on US military and government specifications, I recommend :
http://global.ihs.com/
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A recent photo of Philippine Special Forces shows that the US Tiger Stripe is still on active duty.
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I'd just like to add a few things about the uniforms and the photo from the Philippines.


The woman in the photo is the current President of the Republic of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who came to power through a very interesting method of influencing (i.e. corruption) the electoral commission. Even last year, there were daily protests and demonstrations for the resignation in the Philippines.


As for the uniforms, they are used for the reason that they are primarily - as Aranai mentioned - designed to fight in the jungle at shorter ranges. Due to the fact that to this day there are several groups fighting against the government in the Philippines, these uniforms are perfectly appropriate. They are primarily for jungle warfare (especially ambush warfare in jungle environments or on the jungle-village interface). So from this point of view it is an anti-guerrilla fight, at a very short distance even below 50 meters.
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Bohužel nemohu si vzpomenout na titul dokumentárního pořadu, ve kterém byly záběry na hlídky legionářů v džungli ve Francouzské Guayaně, ale jednoznačně byli oblečeni do klasických tygřích pruhů a záběry byly pouze pár (max. 5-10) let staré. Což ve mě vyvolává dojem, jestli tento kamuflážní vzor není právě francouzského původu (Indočína=Kambodža,Vietnam - až do r.1954 francouzské kolonie)?
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The French pattern is the so-called Lizzard and is similar only in transitions and shapes of fields, but certainly not in color. Today's jungle patrols fighting illegal gold mining in Guyana have different camouflage uniforms in both cut and color, only the fields are a bit similar.


forum.valka.cz
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This post has not been translated to English yet. Please use the TRANSLATE button above to see machine translation of this post.

Zdravím, maskovací vzor Tiger Stripe má skutečně původ ve francouzském vzoru "Lizard" z uniforem vz. 1947-1952. První složkou, která bavlněné uniformy potištěné vzorem Tiger Stripe začala používat, byla na přelomu padesátých a šedesátých let Vietamská námořní pěchota (VNMC), která až do roku 1975 patřila k nejelitnějším složkám sil Vietnamské republiky. Velice populární maskovací vzor se postupně rozšířil také k výsadkovým, průzkumným a úderným (Biet Dong Quan - jihovietnamští "Rangers") jednotkám, odkud si našel cestu k Američanům.


Podle amerických nařízení mohli mohli Tiger Stripes oficiálně používat pouze členové průzkumných a speciálních útvarů, řada vojáků si však pořídila uniformy za své peníze.


Jihovietnamci používali Tiger Stripes až do konce války. Na přelomu 60. a 70. let se objevily nové typy uniforem vyráběné z rip-stop popelínové látky, které do značné míry nahradily původní oděvy vyráběné ze 100% bavlny. Maskovací vzor však zůstal prakticky bez významnějších změn. Odborníci v dnešní době rozlišují značný počet druhů, záleží na výrobci, barevných odstínech, použitém materiálu, útvaru určení a době vzniku. K nejznámnějším patří "zlatý" nebo "stříbrný" vzor, či třeba vzor "John Wayne". Na tigery nejsem odborník, proto tak stručně...
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