South African 32 Bn Winter Pattern Backpack

32 Bn winter pattern Backpack 1990 mod. 

All 32Bn camo items were “sterile”. There were no manufacturers’ labels, writing on buttons or any other way to identify it as South African made. This was so that if captured, the troops could not be traced to a SA unit. The only markings were an ink stamp or small silk label stating the size, L (Large), M (Medium) or S (Small). Some had paper labels.

In the beginning, the soldiers of 32 Bn wore a huge assortment of uniforms, ranging from Portuguese Lizard camo, to Communist Block uniforms. An official camo uniform was designed for 32 Battalion based on the Portuguese Lizard Pattern camo uniform, which was in turn based on French Lizard Pattern. 32 Bn was to be the only unit in the SADF that had its own, distinctive camo uniform. All other units wore the standard Nutria (Browns) uniform. Of note is that the camo uniform was intended for use behind enemy lines, as it gave the 32 soldiers the appearance of Enemy troops who wore similar uniforms. When at base, troops wore Nutria or camo uniforms with their distinctive camo berets. When they were operational with other SADF units, the soldiers usually wore Nutria uniforms. This was to avoid confusion and being contacted by friendly forces.