Tiger Stripe is the name given to a group of camouflage patterns developed during the Vietnam War for use in jungle warfare. It features narrow stripes of varying shades of greens and browns, interlaced with larger black stripes, resembling those of a tiger's black stripes.

The evolution of the tiger stripe pattern dates back to the time of the French Indo-China war during the 1950's when the French Army was trying to re-establish colonial rule in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The local organic Vietnamese Forces, which supported the French Army, was of course heavily supplied with French and American [who supplied the French] made materials and equipment, what's more the fledgling Army structure was firmly based on French military doctrine of the time. Once the French gave up there right to Indo-China and North and South Vietnam was created, the South Vietnamese Army 'ARVN Army Republic Viet-Nam' quickly worked to reorganise and re-equip its forces. So in a need to satisfy there demand a lot of the French and US supplied material was used and procured locally to meet that demand. Not surprisingly camouflage uniforms were deemed necessary for their elite forces and again French issued examples were studied, as the US had no camouflage garments in their inventory to offer at this time. The pattern studied by the Vietnamese Military was the French developed 'Lizard Pattern' most notably used by French Paratroopers at Dien Bien Phu. [It is suggested that the French pattern is’ itself is derived from the 1940’s British Airborne camouflage pattern used on the Denison Smock].

The Vietnamese Marine Corps 'VNMC' took charge to develop the pattern and in 1957-58 the first examples were delivered being largely based on the French Lizard pattern in style and colouration. However with further development less and less of the French Lizard pattern details were retained, and adding a black element to the pattern gave way to an entirely new pattern regarded today as Tiger stripe. [The advantages of a SE Asian Tigers striped jungle camouflage was not lost on the Vietnamese, Tigers being a local animal and revered, must have had some influence on the pattern design as the black tiger stripes provided excellent camouflage to dense jungle back drops].

By the 1960's Tiger stripe camouflage uniforms were being widely issued in varying styles to ARVN forces and with the early help from American MAAG Advisors through to MACV, deployed to help South Vietnam train its regional forces, they too soon adopted the Vietnamese tiger uniforms so as to blend in with the local forces and deny the enemy a target of opportunity.

During the American escalation of the Vietnam War and the heavy usage by US Special Forces and LRRP teams, the South Vietnamese and the US Military stepped up there procurement program and continually sort to improve the tiger stripe camouflage pattern design, giving today what is to collectors a huge amount of various patterns, colourations and uniform cuts based on various twill fabric weights from lightweight one mission wear uniforms to heavy weight one piece twill pilots garments. These were produced by many different Vietnamese and other manufactures, who themselves owe a lot to the different aging effects encountered today, because of the different and sometimes poor printing and vat dyeing process used to produce the patterned material. This aging process is what gives the unique purpling black tiger stripes and the sort after ‘Gold’ and 'Silver' variation of what is commonly referred to as Advisor pattern tigers and John Wayne Dense patterns making Vietnam period Tiger stripe so desirable.

For an authoritative book on the subject; Richard Denis Johnson 'Tiger Patterns' book is recommended reading.

Article written by S/Sgt Simon Garner