A tank crew of the Second World War: the crewman on the far left is wearing the earlier one piece coveralls, while the remainder of the crew is dressed in the two-piece Armoured Fighting Vehicle Crewman's uniform developed specifically for tank crews.

The Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) clothing and personal equipment requirements are ever evolving.

Throughout history the outfits our soldiers have worn and the personal equipment they have carried have changed for reasons including the nature and scale of military operations; preparation for future contingencies; emerging technologies; a need for interoperability with allies and coalition partners; Australian industry innovation; the size, scale and doctrine of the ADF; and available funding.  

An example of this was the requirement for new uniforms in the late 1920’s when a new capability entered Australian service, the tank.

The first members of the Australian Tank Corps received issues of a standard khaki blouse, trousers, and ‘hats khaki fur’; along with a more practical working dress called ‘suits, combination, blue jean’ – which were dark blue coveralls similar to those used by Army Service Corps mechanics. To complete the ensemble their footwear was ‘boots, ankle brown’, either the Universal or Half Heavy patterns.

Defence recognised though that it would need to develop a new working dress peculiar to Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) crews. The very nature of the tasks in the confined and often greasy environs of an AFV required dress which was durable, washable, non-flammable, comfortable when seated for long periods, and did not restrict movement within the vehicle.

During World War II, it became increasingly evident that the standard issue Khaki's initially distributed were not satisfactory for service in AFVs for reasons including: the rear patch pockets were impractical as the wearer spent much of his time in an AFV sitting on them; and the exposed buttons on pockets tended to catch on protrusions inside AFVs, or when entering or leaving, and were soon torn off.

By 1941, issues of dedicated AFV crew working dress became available; its features included:

• ‘Blouses’, and ‘trousers, Drill, khaki, Australian AFV’- manufactured from 8-ounce cotton Drill material and differing from the standard issue counterparts in that all the buttons on the blouse and trousers were covered by the flap of the pocket itself;

The 1940’s AFV khakis also had an internal rear pocket with flap and one large patch pocket on the front of the left leg and a wound dressing patch pocket on the upper right front. The ankles had a strap and buttons so that they could be gathered without the need for gaiters or webbing anklets.

The AFV ‘blouses’ came with patch pockets on both breasts and the blouse and trousers could be joined together by a row of three buttons across the rear of the waist on the trousers, and concealed button holes inside the waist at the rear of the blouse.

Finally, a special pattern boot was supplied for AFV crews that met the specifications, ‘boots, ankle brown, canvas and rubber soled’, with soles made from multiple layers of a rubberised canvas, bonded together. They were a lot less slippery on the steel surfaces of AFVs.

More than a decade later, in 1956, not long after the arrival of the Centurion Tank, issues of a new single piece tank suit, officially described as a ‘suit, drill, black, tank crewman’, commenced. The tank suit overcame many of the deficiencies of earlier issues, and was so practical that its basic design would endure for the next 38 years! Originally issued in black, the colour was changed to green in late 1964. The tank suit remained in service with only minor design alterations until superseded by the Disruptive Pattern Camouflage Uniform (DPCU) tank suit in 1994.

The new DPCU two piece tank suit is made of heavy weight, flame resistant cotton. Its jacket has a conventional collar, a full-length slide fastener, angled patch pockets with concealed buttons, and pen pockets. In all, the DPCU and Disruptive Pattern Desert Uniform (DPDU) tank suits are the next significant step in the evolution of Australian AFV crew working dress. The suits embody many of the lessons learned from AFV operations and exercises over a long period, and are firmly aimed at operations in tropical and desert environments. There are no exposed buttons to catch and be torn off, and no pockets in awkward positions. While no doubt the DPCU and DPDU two piece tank suit will undergo minor changes in the years to come, it should nevertheless serve those AFV crewmen operating in harsh environments well.

An Australian Light Armoured Vehicle crew member in Iraq wearing the current issue two-piece desert camouflage version of the Armoured Fighting Vehicle crewman's suit.