British Pattern 1946 Denison Smock (1954)

Camouflage, Cold War, Color Data, Early Cold War (1945 - 1968), Great Britain and Commonwealth

After the war, the Denison Smock continued to be used by the British Parachute Regiment (among other units), evolving into the Pattern 1959 version. The type of smock on this page have been unofficially called “Pattern 1946” by collectors [1] since they retain much of the WW2 era 2nd pattern’s features such as the half zip and snaps in the back for the crotch flap, a redundant feature meant to keep the smock from riding up during parachuting.

Sample 1:

Yellowed base twill typical of post-war Denison smocks.  Precursor to Pattern 59 version.

Tag:

1954 date.

Pockets:

Armpit Ventilation:

Zipper:

Flash manufacturer.

Crotchflap and Snaps:

The crotchflap, also called the “beaver tail”, was added due to concerns that the smock would float up during parachuting. In actual use, this did not happen due to the webbing worn over the smock and the tail was often cut off since it got in the way. Some parachute smocks like the French TAP 47/54 and 47/56 models entirely omit the tail. All snaps on this smock are “Newey” marked.

Inside:

Internal pockets on side of zipper.

Color Balanced Swatches:

Usage Photos:

Modern Usage:

British Parachute Regiment Pathfinder (2021):

A British Army Pathfinder in a Denison Smock, the traditional camouflage uniform of British and Commonwealth airborne forces in WW2 [2].

One example was used recently (image posted July 1, 2022) by a British Parachute Regiment Pathfinder on a training exercise.

Ukraine (2022):

Video shows smock starting at the 24:39 mark [3].

A reproduction was used in the ongoing (as of November 2022) Ukraine-Russia conflict during a reconnaissance mission whose footage was uploaded to YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJSfEEdV76k on November 12, 2022 [3].