Request for Question Clarification by
tlspiegel-ga
on
03 Jan 2005 12:34 PST
Hi markski,
I'm going to post my findings for you and if you feel this answers
your question, please let me know and I'll post in the answer box.
I've been researching your question for several hours and can't seem
to quite connect the dots.
I'll start at the beginning... After several hours of research last
night, I emailed the contact listed at The Vietnam Database.
"Hello,
I am a researcher for Google Answers, and have a customer who wants to
know why is the USMC Vietnam camouflage uniform called the Mitchell
Pattern. Do you have any history on the origin of that name? I have
searched all over the net and found no reference to the name as to
it's beginnnings.
Any information would be appreciated."
Today I received this reply:
"Hi xxxx,
You have asked or at least a customer has asked a difficult question.
I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that one, nor is there any
reference to where the name came from . I once asked this question to
an expert of US military camouflage and he didn't know.
I do know that in the early years it was referred to frog and leaf and
the pattern was designed back in the Korea War. I can give you bit
more info about the camouflage if it is helpful, but not the answer to
your question. It would be nice to think that the Mitchell refers to
the name of the person who invented it, but I just do not know.
Regards, xxxxxx"
=========
Today my colleague, tutuzdad sent me this information:
"If it's any help, I don't think the answer lies in the name of a
particular person, so much as it probably relates to a specific thing.
I think you will probably find your answer by researching the
camouflage pattern that was originally applied on the North American
B-25J, a WWII era aircraft known affectionatley as "The Mitchell"."
http://www.pmf.at/B25J.html
=========
From this I located the following:
The Vietnam war brought combat and camouflage paint schemes to help
protect the planes from attack.
In the 1950's and for most of the 1960's, SAC bombers were shiny
aluminum with the bottom painted white to reflect heat from a nuclear
blast. But during the Vietnam war combat and camouflage paint schemes
helped to protect the planes and servicemen from attack.
=========
http://hometown.aol.com/rtoartilleryfo/questions.html
4. What is a "Mitchell Pattern" helmet cover? The "Mitchell Pattern"
helmet cover was the helmet cover used by the Army and Marine Corps
during the Vietnam War. The Mitchell Pattern camoflage was lime green
with varios shades of green oak leaf shapes. Thus the camo pattern is
sometimes called the oak leaf pattern. The helmet cover was
reversible. It's reverse had brown spots on the other side.
5. What is ERDL Camoflage? ERDL is the acronym for the Army's
Environmental Research and Development Laboratories. The ERDL
camoflage used during the Vietnam War was developed in 1948.
=========
http://www.gunboards.com/militaria/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1256ᩛ
The Army went to the Mitchell and then ERDL pattern cover during Vietnam.
=========
Background
http://cybermodeler.com/hobby/builds/build_am_b-25b.shtml
The B-25 series started life as a drawing board concept at North
American Aviation, designated NA-40. Developed as a light bomber for
the 'peacetime' Army Air Corps, the NA-40 was a twin-engine,
twin-tailed aircraft that was competing for limited funding. The NA-40
was adopted, with some changes, as the B-25. The B-25 and B-25A were
both procured in small numbers and used for training, as these
aircraft were not configured with self-sealing fuel tanks and other
combat necessities. The B-25B would be the first version that was
combat-ready, and the RAF dubbed the aircraft as Mitchell Mk.I.
The aircraft was named in honor of General Billy Mitchell, whose
maverick style tended to get him into political trouble, but his
message was belatedly understood loud and clear. Airpower was a force
to be reckoned with, and aircraft can be used to sink even the most
powerful battleships. Mitchell foresaw the future of aviation, and
like many outspoken visionaries, he was court-martialed and stripped
of his military career. Japanese planners also recognized the truth in
Mitchell's vision and proved him correct on December 7, 1941. The B-25
was going to war.
=========
http://www.strategic-air-command.com/patch/Intro.htm
The Strategic Air Command was officially organized in 1946, but it's
roots go back to the 1920's when General Billy Mitchell developed the
concept of strategic bombing. At that time American bombers were
under the command of the Army Air Corps and traditional army officers,
who saw the airplane as nothing more than airborne artillery that
could used to support ground battles. Such tactical missions would
later be assigned to fighters. General Mitchell's strategic bombing
concept advocated using large, long-range bombers to destroy
factories, transportation facilities and cities and thus the ability
and will of an enemy to wage war.
[edit]
In the 1950's and for most of the 1960's, SAC bombers were shiny
aluminum with the bottom painted white to reflect heat from a nuclear
blast. The Vietnam war brought combat and camouflage paint schemes to
help protect the planes from attack.
=========
The Vietnam Database
http://www.thevietnam-database.co.uk/USarmy/Helmet.htm
Description: The Mitchell leaf pattern was a disruptive camouflage
pattern using selected organic dyes and resin bonded pigments. A
duotone reversible cover with leaf patterns in green colours for
spring and summer wear, and brown colours for fall and winter
operations.
=========
http://home.att.net/~jbaugher2/b25_1.html
The B-25 is one of the few American military aircraft to have been
named for a person. The aircraft carries the name of Colonel William
C. "Billy" Mitchell (1879-1936), an Army officer of the early 1920s
who had been the assistant Chief of the Army Air Service. He was
court-martialed for insubordination in 1925 as a result of his
outspoken views on the future of air power. His views were ultimately
vindicated, and he was posthumously promoted to Bragidier General.
Even if the Mitchell bomber had never done anything else in its
career, it would have achieved immortality for its most famous
mission, the Doolittle Raid on Japan in 1942.
========
http://www.fansview.com/racing/061998a.htm
See photo - 4th down on the right:
A more subtle camouflage paint scheme adorns this B-25 Mitchell
bomber. Another WW II workhorse, Mitchells bombed and strafed their
way across all theaters of the war, including the famed Jimmy
Doolittle-led raid on Tokyo.
=======
A short history of camouflage uniforms - Copyright Henrik Clausen 2003
http://www.henrikc.dk/camouflage/history.asp
Post World War 2
The American ERDL (US Army Engineer Research & Development Laboratory)
developed the leaf pattern which in 1981 became the woodland pattern
(enlarged). The leaf pattern was heavily used by US troops in Vietnam
after 1967.
=========
Best regards,
tlspiegel
