I was having a light-hearted discussion
on “field uniforms” with a friend. The idea was a practical uniform that could
be used for general tasks rather than as a dedicated combat dress. I believe the
latter role would be better served by combat smocks that can be worn over body
armour.
One source of inspiration was the British
battledress. I was also looking at the Afrika Korps. Why the Afrika Korps?
Unlike most European combatants Germany had very few colonial holdings so when
they went to war in Africa they had to design everything from scratch. It was a
useful crucible to determine what traditional uniform features they were using
were worth keeping. The first attempt included high lace-up boots, breeches and
a sun helmet. Experience in Africa produced radical changes in the uniform.
Ankle length boots with trousers that could be bloused into them, or shorts
became commonplace. So too did a long shirt which could be worn instead of a
tunic. The most distinctive uniform item, however, was the peaked Afrika Korps
cap.
During my reading I turned up the interesting
piece of information that these caps were lined with red material. Some green
aircrew clothing has an orange lining. The idea is that if the crashed crewman
wants to be seen rather than camouflaged he wears the item inside out. If a
similar idea was intended for the Afrika Korps cap why red and not some other
colour that might be more visible in desert conditions?
It is possible the red lining was
intended for another form of signalling. Placing a luminous panel inside a
patrol cap is described in this article.But if signalling with the red interior
of a cap was a common technique why did later German army designs of headwear
not have a red lining too? I have a post-war BW hat of similar design, but no
red lining.
Another possibility was that the red
cloth was the cheapest cloth available. A friend who is an English Civil War
enactor has often pointed out to me that “many civil war regiments on either
side wore red. It was often the cheapest cloth that could be had”. Including in
this was Cromwell’s New Model Army, establishing the penny pinching and “just
make do” traditions that the British Army has struggled with for so many
centuries!
The actual answer is in fact far more
interesting. Red lining was believed to improve protection against the sun.
Read more on this topic here!
