Unknown Bulgarian Lizard Pattern Uniform

Does anyone have information on this set?
Arch

Er... this one stopped me in my tracks! Whoa boy that is a sweet set. Do you have a will? If so, let me know if I'm mentioned in it so I'll know whether to call in a favor owed to me by some guys named Nunzio and Rocco

The camo pattern is obviously the Romanian made "branch" pattern. You'll have to remind me who used that (SWAPO?). The cloth is obviously different and the cut of the uniform is consistent with the Bulgarian brown tiger advisor uniform. And it looks to be in brand new condition too. I wonder if this was a test pattern to either be the original uniform or to replace the tiger striped one?

The Bulgarians were pretty good about stamping their uniforms. Any markings?

Steve

Thanks for the compliment!!!! Actually....this set has a hand written tag in the neck area. No other marks other that I can find. This set and the other Bulgarian lizard sets were bought from the same seller. I have had these sets since 1995.
Arch

Yeah, when it comes to European stuff I'm pretty jaded. People can post pics of stuff that make me think "WOW! NICE!", but rarely does anything come along that goes beyond that. I've never seen a set like this before... and I like the Romanian/Yugo branch pattern a lot too

Steve

I was waiting for Steve G to post as he knows much more then I do , But I had the same thoughts he has , the branch pattern but in desert , never seen it before , FANTASTIC and RARE !!!! Would love to have it !!!!!

It looks like ROK desert pattern.
http://www.kamouflage.net/camouflage/00268.php

yeah pretty similar... but take a second look. the korean pattern is a little "woodlandish"(meaning the shapes). the bulgarian pattern is more horizontally stretched. at least that's what i can say from the pictures.
btw. arch, cool uniform!

regards,
philip

Nice set, Arch. I would guess it was an experimental piece for Bulgarian troops, serving either in an advisory role or as part of a UN contingent. Admittedly, I have never seen any photographs of the pattern in use, nor any examples other than yours.

I am not aware of any Romanian pattern that copies or is influenced by the Yugoslavian tricolor MOL branch pattern. There is a grey-base tricolor branch camouflage pattern very similar to this one that was also made in Bulgaria. Some of these uniforms ended up in the hands of SWAPO, and possibly other insurgent units operating in Southern Africa. Those uniforms, to my knowledge, were never issued or worn by Bulgarian troops themselves, as they are clearly marked with export tags in English.

What you have is indeed a very nice set. The Bulgarians have introduced a couple of other patterns that are not commonly known and probably saw only limited distribution. One of these is a green-based lizard pattern, and the other a variant of the Eastern European rain pattern that was so common during the Cold War.

Eric

There is a grey-base tricolor branch camouflage pattern very similar to this one that was also made in Bulgaria. Some of these uniforms ended up in the hands of SWAPO

That is the one I was referring to, but unfortunately long ago I was told it was made in Romanian and apparently I can't quite shake it out of my head. As you say it is Bulgarian meant for export.

The Yugo pattern has branches that are much larger, but the pattern is the same in terms of style (I did not notice any shape similarities). The Bulgarian export piece with gray background has the same exact, and I do mean identical, pattern as Arch's fantastic find pictured above. The construction of the gray version has different construction (at least the trousers... I don't have a gray shirt).

The very interesting thing I noticed is that the two branch colors are pretty much the same for both Bulgarian sets and the Yugo type. The difference is the background color, being green for Yugo, gray for Bulgarian export, and tan for Arch's set.

Again Arch... great set!

Steve

Here are 2 photos of a SWAPO hat I have in the Bulgarian made 'branch' camo pattern. Unfortunately it is quite faded. The pattern looks like the Yugoslavia 'branch' pattern, just with different colors.

Ah hah! So you're the one I was bidding against for that cap!

To add to the discussion, here's a complete uniform in this pattern. The pieces were acquired separately, however they were both captured from SWAPO.









Take note that the uniform is cut just like the Cuban/FAPLA lizard and elm leaf pattern uniforms, clear indication that this uniform was an export pattern for use in Angola. Arch's uniform above however, is cut just like the Bulgarian issue desert lizard uniforms as discussed in the other thread. This suggests to to me that the lighter "desert" version was most certainly made for Bulgarian use, while this darker version was clearly made as an export uniform.

Cheers,

Mike

mcoleman762 wrote:Ah hah! So you're the one I was bidding against for that cap!

To add to the discussion, here's a complete uniform in this pattern. The pieces were acquired separately, however they were both captured from SWAPO.









Take note that the uniform is cut just like the Cuban/FAPLA lizard and elm leaf pattern uniforms, clear indication that this uniform was an export pattern for use in Angola. Arch's uniform above however, is cut just like the Bulgarian issue desert lizard uniforms as discussed in the other thread. This suggests to to me that the lighter "desert" version was most certainly made for Bulgarian use, while this darker version was clearly made as an export uniform.

Cheers,

Mike

Mike,
I totally concur with your assessment of the two Bulgarian patterns. The one you posted is made for export to Angola (perhaps other desert areas as well). The pattern I posted is cut like a typical Bulgarian uniform. I am wondering if it is another version of the desert camouflage used by advisors?
Arch

Hey Arch,

Yeah, I'm inclined to agree with Eric that your uniform could possibly have been for either a UN mission, or as a test pattern with advisors (or both). Hopefully one of these days a photo will show up with your uniform in use by Bulgarian troops.

Mike

This uniform use for Bulgarian Reguiment in Cambodia 1991...

Necrolust wrote:This uniform use for Bulgarian Reguiment in Cambodia 1991...

I served in Cambodia from 1992-93. There were no troops from the Bulgarian contingent wearing that uniform.

The two soldiers on the left appear to be French. Anybody know what year they switched to CCE camouflage uniforms?

Steve

CCE was authorised for wear starting 1991, but was not common issue until around 1994. Funny thing was that based on what I can gather, France had their "Daguet" desert pattern from GW1 in circulation before their woodland uniforms!

@ cobalt545 it wont be a surprise if they still had these too. There are actually a ton of these still laying arround, they issue them to do some service stuff.

I will do some research and tell you guys, love all that attention to our military stuff It will be easier to get info from where I am