Rhodesian Brushstroke CAMO

A locally-produced brushstroke camouflage pattern, influenced by the original British design, was developed for Rhodesian security forces in 1965. The pattern would incorporate brown & forest green brush strokes on a yellowish-tan background, creating a scheme more suitable to the African bush than the older WW2 and 1950s era designs. The 1st pattern Rhodesian brush design was produced from 1965 until 1969, and is seen here in its first incarnation, which was printed on the same cotton denim fabric used to produce tropical uniforms for personnel deployed to Malaya. The "translucent" printing of the design was a mark of the prototype or trial uniforms, and was later fixed by adjusting the type of dyes used in the printing process. The pattern was issued to members of the Rhodesian Security Forces from 1965 until its replacement by a vertical lizard stripe in 1980. It was the default camouflage appearing on battledress of the Rhodesian Army and British South Africa Police. The design was also used on uniforms issued to South African special forces for clandestine operations. Rhodesian Brushstroke is currently used by the Zimbabwe National Army.