Camouflage

• 1. Evolutionary Origins And Genetics

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  In 1859, Charles Darwin published a theory that explained how features like camouflage evolved by providing individual animals with a reproductive advantage. This process enabled creatures to leave more offspring on average than other members of the same species. The English zoologist Edward Bagnall Poulton studied animal coloration in his 1890 book The Colours of Animals. He classified different types such as special protective resemblance where an animal looks like another object. His experiments showed that swallow-tailed moth pupae were camouflaged to match the backgrounds on which they were reared as larvae. Poulton's general protective resemblance was at that time considered to be the main method of camouflage. Frank Evers Beddard wrote in 1892 that tree-frequenting animals are often green in colour. Among vertebrates numerous species of parrots, iguanas, tree-frogs, and the green tree-snake are examples. Beddard did however briefly mention other methods including the alluring coloration of the flower mantis. He also explained the coloration of sea fish such as the mackerel. Among pelagic fish it is common to find the upper surface dark-coloured and the lower surface white. This makes the animal inconspicuous when seen either from above or below.

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• 2. Biological Mechanisms And Principles

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  The artist Abbott Handerson Thayer formulated what is sometimes called Thayer's Law, the principle of countershading. However, he overstated the case in the 1909 book Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom. He argued that all patterns and colors whatsoever of all animals that ever preyed or are preyed on are under certain normal circumstances obliterative. Thayer used paintings such as Peacock in the Woods (1907) to reinforce his argument. Teddy Roosevelt roundly mocked these views by critics. The English zoologist Hugh Cott's 1940 book Adaptive Coloration in Animals corrected Thayer's errors. Cott built on Thayer's discoveries developing a comprehensive view of camouflage based on maximum disruptive contrast. Disruptive patterns use strongly contrasting non-repeating markings such as spots or stripes to break up the outlines of an animal. Predators like the leopard use disruptive camouflage to help them approach prey while potential prey use it to avoid detection by predators. Countershading uses graded colour to counteract the effect of self-shadowing creating an illusion of flatness. Self-shadowing makes an animal appear darker below than on top. Countershading paints in tones which are darkest on top lightest below making the countershaded animal nearly invisible against a suitable background.

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• 3. Military History And Development

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  The development of military camouflage was driven by the increasing range and accuracy of infantry firearms in the 19th century. In particular the replacement of the inaccurate musket with weapons such as the Baker rifle made personal concealment in battle essential. Two Napoleonic War skirmishing units of the British Army, the 95th Rifle Regiment and the 60th Rifle Regiment, were the first to adopt camouflage in the form of a rifle green jacket. A contemporary study in 1800 by the English artist and soldier Charles Hamilton Smith provided evidence that grey uniforms were less visible than green ones at a range of 150 yards. The first British Army unit to adopt khaki uniforms was the Corps of Guides at Peshawar when Sir Harry Lumsden and his second in command William Hodson introduced a drab uniform in 1848. Hodson wrote that it would be more appropriate for the hot climate and help make his troops invisible in a land of dust. By 1896 khaki drill uniform was used everywhere outside Europe. During the First World War the French army formed a camouflage corps led by Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scévola. They employed artists known as camoufleurs to create schemes such as tree observation posts and covers for guns.

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• 4. Artistic Influence And Cultural Impact

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  In 1919 the attendants of a dazzle ball hosted by the Chelsea Arts Club wore dazzle-patterned black and white clothing. The Illustrated London News announced this event which influenced fashion and art via postcards and magazine articles. More recently fashion designers have often used camouflage fabric for its striking designs and patterned disorder. Camouflage clothing can be worn largely for its symbolic significance rather than for fashion. During the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States anti-war protestors often ironically wore military clothing during demonstrations against the American involvement in the Vietnam War. In 1986 Andy Warhol began a series of monumental camouflage paintings which helped to transform camouflage into a popular print pattern. A year later in 1987 New York designer Stephen Sprouse used Warhol's camouflage prints as the basis for his Autumn Winter 1987 collection. Modern artists such as Ian Hamilton Finlay have used camouflage to reflect on war. His 1973 screenprint of a tank camouflaged in a leaf pattern Arcadia is described by the Tate as drawing an ironic parallel between this idea of a natural paradise and the camouflage patterns on a tank.

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• 5. Modern Technology And Applications

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  After the Second World War radar made camouflage generally less effective though coastal boats are sometimes painted like land vehicles. Aircraft camouflage too came to be seen as less important because of radar. The American Universal Camouflage Pattern of 2004 attempted to suit all environments but was withdrawn after a few years of service. The first genuinely digital camouflage pattern was the Canadian Disruptive Pattern CADPAT issued to the army in 2002. Soon followed by the American Marine pattern MARPAT. A pixellated appearance is not essential for this effect though it is simpler to design and to print. In 2011 BAE Systems announced their Adaptiv infrared camouflage technology. It uses about 1,000 hexagonal panels to cover the sides of a tank. The Peltier plate panels are heated and cooled to match either the vehicle's surroundings or an object such as a car when viewed in infrared. Cell telephone towers carrying cell telephone antennae are sometimes camouflaged as tall trees with plastic branches in South Africa. Since this method is costly a figure of three times the normal cost is mentioned alternative forms of camouflage can include using neutral colours or familiar shapes such as cylinders and flagpoles.

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