Denison Smock - Windproof Smock

Windproof Smock

A garment with a similar appearance to the Denison, in lighter-weight denim, the 1942 Pattern Smock, Windproof, was also commonly issued to scouts and snipers in infantry battalions, from 1943, but most notably the SAS/SBS/SOE and Commando squads. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the "SAS Windproof". It was not designed much for parachuting, and lacked a crotch flap, having a drawstring hem instead. The most distinctive point of difference between 'Windproofs' and the Denison smock are that the former are hooded.

A matching set of over-trousers was produced to complement the smock. Both items were screen printed with colour-fast pigments in a bold Splinter pattern camouflage similar to that of the 'brushstroke' pattern applied to the Denison. The pattern has a base colour of pink with overlying brushstrokes of plum, pale green and dark brown. Windproof smocks and trousers were worn by French paratroopers in Indochina, and to a lesser extent in Algeria. The French referred to the pattern as "sausage skin".

Variations of the 'Windproof' have been the basic Special Forces smock until the present, with several alternative colours seen over the years - white (or at least natural cotton) for LRDG's desert use; olive green; black; and, in now very rare later issues of the Smock, Windproof, 1963 Pattern, the DPM introduced in the late 1960s. The current issue Smock, Windproof is in the latest variation of the DPM design.