Camouflage, military

Used widely in World War I, white phosphorus was discovered to be a useful compound to generate large amounts of smoke to camouflage military operations. White phosphorus, however, can be quite toxic and has been largely replaced by titanium tetrachloride for generating obscurant smokes. 

An interesting development some months before the war ended on 11 November 1918 was the transfer of the 1 )azzle Section from the Admiralty to the Controller General of Merchant Shipping. I he Section continued to reside at the Royal Academy but this reorganisation hinted at the arrangements which were to prevail throughout World War 11 when separate camouflage units were set up for military and civilian applications. 

Uses Pigment for plastics, coatings, esp. military camouflage coatings Features Heat- and light-stable weatherable chem. resist. 

By the beginning of World War II, the Soviet Union also had a large stock of all types of poison substances excluding the organophosphorous ones. Documents kept in military archives say that over the period of the war Soviet military and political leaders let chemical forces undertake only chemical reconnaissance and decontamination of arms, uniforms and grounds. In addition, chemical forces could use flame-throwers and camouflage smokes. 

O Neill, T. R. (2010), Camouflage in transition From natural history to art to vision science, Proceedings of the Royal Army and Military History Museum, Brussels, Belgium. 

Colour and camouflage design issues in military clothing... 

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