Flecktarn

Flecktarn (German pronunciation: [ˈflɛktaʁn]; "mottled camouflage"; also known as Flecktarnmuster or Fleckentarn) is a 3-, 4-, 5- or 6-color disruptive camouflage pattern, the most common being the five-color pattern, consisting of dark green, light green, black, red brown and green brown or tan depending on the manufacturer. The use of spots creates a "dithering" effect, which eliminates hard boundaries between the different colors in much the same way the squares in the newest digital camouflage patterns do. The pattern is designed for use in temperate woodland terrain. It has been adapted as desert camouflage by varying the colors.

History

The German Army started experimenting with camouflage patterns before World War II, and some army units used "splinter" pattern camouflage. Waffen-SS combat units used various patterns from 1935 onwards. Many SS camouflages were designed by Prof. Johann Georg Otto Schick.