Well, if you’ve been following the story about the “battle” between the Finns and the Russians over the latter’s alleged copying of Finland’s M/05 pattern camouflage, you might find the following to be of interest…
I found a discussion thread on a Polish military forum today about this topic, and one of the posters included a link to a Polish auction site where somebody was selling one of these suits – along with some good photos of it that show the details nice and clearly.
Here’s a translation of the auction text:
And the photos (note: the suit doesn’t appear to be reversible to winter white; rather, it just seems to be printed on bleached cotton cloth):
I received three uniforms from Russia which use a copy of the Finnish M/05 pattern camouflage. Uniform consists of trousers and tunic/blouse. I believe Sposn is the manufacturer, but only one tunic/blouse and one trouser has a labal/tag. The cut is really cool, very similar to the German pull-overs from WW2 – excellent solution for the hood. Really strong material (not ripstop). It is very loose-fitting and comfortable. There are also reinforcing patches at the knees and elastic at the bottom.
In terms of cut and styling, the suit appears to be virtually identical to the Partizan suit made by Sposn. Now, what about the camo pattern itself? Well, in fairness to the Russians, it doesn’t appear to be a total 100% copy – compare the photos of authentic Finnish uniforms and M/05 pattern swatches below – and besides that, it appears to be a commercial company that’s produced these suits (for private purchase) rather than an official military issue uniform. Nonetheless, its a close enough copy to get the copyright lawyers sharpening their pencils – and I bet we haven’t heard the last of this…
P.S. (03.12.08) Apparently the comapny name for this replica M/05 camo is “Jeger” (“hunter/commando”).
Authentic Finnish M/05 pattern:
K. – you are certainly right about the official comment from the Finnish MoD, and also about the fact that its not news at all – to those of us in the know – that Russian companies have been producing close copies of foreign camo for years.
What’s interesting, and new, about this story is that its been picked up by a mass-media publication like the New York Times, and has thus stirred up a lot of public discussion – that’s why we’ll probably continue to hear about it for a while.
Cheers!
Hey Stan-O, where does it say that the “Partizan” suit is new? The “news” is the further details about the M/05 copy. I posted the “Partizan” article to show the similarity of the cut between that one and the M/05 copy.
Cheers.
I bet we have heard the end of this.
Russian commercial equipment manufacturers have been producing copies of foreign camouflage for use in the MVD for quite some time.
Finnish military press reps said that no action would be taken.
You guys must be kidding with this “news”, SPOSN has been making their Partizan suit in this camo for a few good years and most of it went to the Interior Ministry. Nothing really new here.