Ranger Uniform

Description

South Vietnam introduced a leaf-pattern camouflage (very similar to the U.S. M1948 ERDL pattern) around 1964–65, which is quite interesting given that the American version had not yet entered mass production. This “ARVN leaf” or “paratrooper leaf” pattern (sometimes referred to as BDQ, an abbreviation for Biệt động Quân—the ARVN Rangers) shared the same light brown and green organic shapes with black “branch” elements on a lime-green background as the U.S. M1948 ERDL pattern.

The ARVN version was initially printed on medium- to heavy-weight satin fabric; however, because this fabric tended to fade quickly after only a few washes, it was later produced on lighter-weight cotton poplin (see below). This pattern replaced earlier “pink” camouflage patterns within the Airborne regiments and was also commonly issued to ARVN Ranger (BDQ) units.