French Para jackets.

[Patrick Dempsey]

Hello everyone,
My French Collecting continues....but i'm suffering an information "Drought" at the moment. I have just purchased a "Veste de saut camofle" of the M1947/53 type, of early Algerian war era.
Were these jackets worn/issued however, before the ceasefire in Indochina?

As ever thanks for any help,
Patrick.

[bhholst]

Hello Patrick.
I can give you only general information as to the camouflage clothing worn by French Union Paratroop units in Indochinal. The model number means nothing to me but one would think that this model carried over into the Algerian War for Independence as of 1954.
However the French Union Paratroop units deployed in Indochina wore a mixture of British, French paratroop purpose clothing and also US Marine Corps camouflage (the only US service branch wearing camouflage to my knowledge during WW II) clothing.
Efforts seemed to have been made to have the different battalions clothed in a uniform way so not to look too mixed bag-like.
Bernhard H. Holst

[Patrick Dempsey]

Thanks.

Hi Bernhard,
thanks for the response. I was aware of the "Mix and match" look of the Para units, using whatever they could get their hands on from The UK, US, and their own copies of US kit. This makes assembling a uniform a bit easier to say the least it's a shame i don't know for certain that the jacket i have was a "Transitional" item from war to war...the quest continues!

thanks for your time and help, it is always appreciated

Patrick.

[VerKuilen Ager]

Just a point of tiny interest: there was U.S. Army camouflage gear and clothing, but it saw limited use. Used in combat in Normandy, the soldiers wearing it came under fire from their own troops, being mistaken for the Waffen SS. As a result, it saw little further use in the ETO.

[bhholst]

Hello Histaria:
Thank you for the information on the limited use of camouflage clothing by US Army during the Invasion. of Normandy. Of course friendly fire is the most disliked action to be experienced by any military member.
Bernhard H. Holst

[floupe]

Patrick,

I've got an interest in French Indo-Chinese combat uniforms and done a little bit of research on this matter. From what I can ascertain, as the airborne units were already issued with earlier models the issue for Mle 47/53 was not considered urgent but *individual* examples of the 47/53 variant definitely made their way to Indo-China before the ceasefire. However, the 'tenue leopard' outfits used at Dien Bien Phu would have been the Mle 47/52 and earlier variants.

(ref. Military Illustrated No.16 Dec '88/Jan'89, 'Introduction to French Airborne Camouflage Uniforms, 1952-1962' pg.27; Military Illustrated No.20 Aug/Sept. '89, 'Dien Bien Phu - Uniforms of the Parachute Batallions', pg.38)

Hence the final answer to your question is, "YES, but .." :P

For a good overview of French airborne uniform types go to:

http://www.worldcamo.com

go to European section, and under French section there is a small link to 'Identification and Classification of French Airborne uniforms'.

It is interesting to note that the US government seemingly gave away so much of their surplus camouflage from WW2 to colonial governments (France in Indo-China and the Dutch in the Dutch East Indies) that by the early '60's, when US elite units were re-discovering the advantages of camouflage, they had to source commercial manufacturers!!

[Patrick Dempsey]

Hello floupe,
Thank you very much for the information and the link, i can assure you it is very much appreciated.
My jacket is undated (a French stamping is present but illegible), but nicely worn (with no Israeli stamps), so it's good to know that this type was "In theatre" before the ceasefire.
Welcome to the forums, and i hope they prove to be as valuable to you as they are to me.
All the best,
Patrick.