TTsKO colorations

Hey TTsKO-enthusiasts,

since there is a thread about different TTsKO cuts, why can't we start one about different colorations?

I know that there are a lot of TTsKO uniforms in the hands of collectos on this board, so why shouldn't we compare all the colorations?

These are the different colorations I have:



If possible lets keep out duplicates.


Best Regards,
Kolja

Great idea, but perhaps a description of the uniform to accompany the pattern.

1985 VDV (left) vs. 1989 transitional VDV:



1991 MVD "brown" vs. 1992 VDV "mountain/oxblood/bloodcake" :

The following information is based on personal observation. It should not be seen as 100% correct, just an attempt to understand TTsKO camo development. Please feel free to make corrections or add additional information.

The earlier Soviet TTsKO pattern uniforms do not appear to have much color variation. TTsKO uniforms issued 1985 to 1990 had green/khaki based colors. There were some slight dye lot variations on uniforms but there is not enough evidence to say, for example, that brown based (or other color variation) TTsKO pattern uniforms were originally issued.

This all changed circa 1991 when uniforms began to show intentional color variations like pink, oxblood, and blue colorations. 1991 is also when you begin seeing new camouflage patterns introduced (like bi-color and VSR). These new patterns and colorations were probably developed during a trial process to find a new camo uniform for the armed services.

Based on history, Russia fields a new camo pattern about every 10 years; starting with the TTsKO in the 1980’s, VSR in the 1990’s, Flora in the 2000’s and the current digital for the 2010’s.

Camouflage variations increased during the early 1990’s, with the break-up of the Soviet Union, as former republics began developing their own, different camouflage pattern uniforms.

It appears that the Ukrainian owned Elephant factories like the Poltava factory and the Sverdlovskaya factory (which may be located in Russia) were very active in developing and exporting new camo patterns and various uniform colorations.

Please check the dates on your uniforms and see if you can find a pre-1991 TTsKO uniform with something other than a green/khaki base color. It would also be interesting to identify the factories that produced the different color variations.

I agree Eric, I made this observation as well noting the minimal variation prior to 1991. All TTsKO uniforms between 1985-1989, regardless of branch of service (whether it be Naval Infantry, air force or VDV/army), all share the basic "forest" colour template.

I've also noticed the earliest of TTsKO uniforms to have used a different dying technique, which results in the "bleeding" of the red/brown shapes into the background colours, which a Russian source once described as intentional but costly, and thus dropped in the later series. This is obvious in my first pair of uniforms above.

http://vonstuckcamouflage.free.fr/USSR.php

Here is a variation from Dennis Desmond's book - black, brown on a tan base. It would be cool to find one of these!

The photos below show the factory stamps on two separate TTsKO uniforms that have the pink base coloration. The fact that the uniforms were produced by different factories suggests that the pink TTsKO was an intentional color variation.

Infamous $700 Pink 6 pocket TTsKO from eBay showing a Savinskaya factory stamp dated 1991 located in Russia


Another Pink 6 pocket TTsKO showing a Borislav garment factory dated 1991 located in the Ukraine

I don't think I've seen the type Gilles pictured in the lower right (of the 4 patterns) before today. Although I like the original darker colors the best, I kinda like this lighter variation!

Steve

Production variance between 2 different 1985-dated uniforms:



Both are new.

I'd say those two are a pretty good side-by-side example of "normal" production variation. Again, look at DPM uniforms of any type for any given model and you'll find more variation than this. Heck, look at DDR Strichtarn variations and they only had two colors to try balancing

Steve

Yep, my point exactly. But to say that the "pink" and other bizarre types are the random products of a bewildered and overzealous textile factory employee, like some have claimed, is pure nonsense. I suspect that the research project that eventually gave rise to the TTsKO camo planned for the use of several different colour variations for use in different environments, but due to the acute financial problems of the 1980s, was not fully implemented. Somewhat like the AKM replacement. The Soviets considered some very ambitious designs, mechanically superior to the AKM rifle but chose the AK-74 as an intermediate solution for economical reasons.

Amusingly, the uniform was assembled from two different batches of fabric, as seen on the shoulder boards:

koalorka wrote:But to say that the "pink" and other bizarre types are the random products of a bewildered and overzealous textile factory employee, like some have claimed, is pure nonsense.

I don't think anybody (here, at least) is suggesting that all of the variations are unintentional by central authority. My rule of thumb for the TTsKO is that if the colors are roughly in the same ballpark, it's a manufacturing variation. If there is significant, consistent differences in all three colors then it's probably some sort of deliberate decision. Branch based? I don't think we know enough to make that conclusion, though it is certainly a possibility.

This is quite a different approach than what I have with VSR. Complete chaos is about the only thing that explains all those variations.

Mixed cloth batches are pretty common. Even in the West. US ERDL uniforms are often found in Brown and Green variants, I've seen Berlin Polizei Sumpftarn with THREE batches of cloth, BW Splittertarn with mixed variants, etc. What I find even more fun is when you find obviously defective cloth used for things like the underside of pocket flaps or other low profile areas. I even found DDR Strichtarn on the inside shoulders of a wool uniform. That was a surprising find

Steve

So you got this one off eBay.
Could you find any evidence that this suit is in fact of Russian origin and not Ukrainian-made?

The seller claimed it to be designated for custom personnel.

I don't know
No label or stamp
For that I have see, Valery sell only Russian item, so, I don't think it is Ukrenian
The picture show a Russian custom special force operator ( find on a French forum, the guy who have post this picture collect custon items from east country)
Gilles

I put this jacket here because it have the same patch
Gilles

Customs service write on the patch

Nice! This is a lined version of the helicopter jacket, or does it have a button in liner?

Steve

CollectinSteve wrote:Nice!  This is a lined version of the helicopter jacket, or does it have a button in liner?

Steve

lined version of the helicopter jacket
Gilles