USE OF ARTIFICIAL MATERIALS

[Music] in such places as the desert or other fair terrain where nature does not provide us with sufficient coverage man himself must use his ingenuity to devise artificial methods of concealing his position the most common of artificial materials used in camouflage is the garnished fishnet this consists of a supporting net into which strips of colored cloth called garnishing are woven the ends of each strip of garnishing are tied to the net there are two types of garnishing one consists of Garland's of uniform color to suit the terrain the other of multicolored garlands blending at a distance into a uniform matching tone the patterns are woven so that 90% of the openings in the central part are filled thin iottie irregularly and gradually toward the side fishnets are available in various sizes those 12 feet square are used for machineguns and trench mortars net 22 feet square for anti-tank guns such as the 37 millimeter 30 foot square nets are used for light tanks and small vehicles Nets 36 by 44 feet are designed for field artillery weapons and trucks for artillery use the net should be provided with a 12-foot slit in the center of one of the long sides in order to enable the gun to fire medium tanks require a 45 foot net for effective coverage fishnets are folded in a standard manner so that they may be quickly and easily unfolded even in the dark first the net is stretched out on a level piece of ground the men take positions by the long edge of the net the non-common chart gives the command down at the command up the men raise the edge of the net in unison and carry it forward the command down is repeated and the men lower the net hooking their fingers in the netting when they lift the net they take hold of the netting under thus making the fold this action is repeated until the men have reached the center they then assemble on the other side and repeat the process the last fold is carried across the previously folded part of the net it is then stretched length wise men at each end fold in the last two feet and then walk toward the center making a flat roll of the net when the rolls reached the center of the net one is folded on top of the other and the net is securely tied ready to be used at a moment's notice when the terrain does not offer natural concealment the exposed vehicle is an easy target for the enemy bomber one common method of concealing a tank is to drape a garnish fishnet over it the folded net is placed on top so that it can be unrolled over the front and rear the net is then spread out and poles or branches are inserted to hold it away from the sides for most important in concealing a tank from aerial observation is to distort its regular form the edges are then pulled out and staked down at 6 or 8 places in an irregular pattern to complete the drape in broken terrain a drape vehicle will usually not be detectable