![]() ![]() ![]() Deceiving Enemy Bombers Pocket-sized Camouflage Military Training Pamphlet No. In some cases, the aim was to deceive an enemy aircraft as it approached from several miles away: from such a distance, camouflage – which appears very basic when viewed from directly above – stopped a potential bombing target standing out. However, it was the threat of targeted bombing attacks on Britain by the Luftwaffe (the German air force) in the Second World War (1939-1945) that led the British military to use the concealment and deceit of camouflage in more sophisticated and strategic ways. Life-size cut-outs of German soldiers created by the British Army School of Camouflage to mislead the enemy’s own troops in battle © IWM Q95955 The school explored methods of deceiving the enemy on the Western Front. ![]() The British Army School of Camouflage was founded in 1916 and based in London’s Kensington Gardens. An original can be seen at the Imperial War Museum, London © IWM Q17811 Under cover of darkness and close to the front line, a real tree would be cut down and the new hollow steel-cored tree secretly erected in its place. The French were the first to practice basic defensive camouflage at the start of that war: units of camoufleurs painted weaponry and vehicles with disruptive patterns to blend into the environment, and taught military units how to disguise structures and vehicle tracks from aerial surveillance with leaf-covered netting and painted tarpaulins. ![]() The enemy could observe armaments, buildings and troop movements from above and plan military tactics accordingly. The First World War (1914-1918) was the first conflict in which aviation played a major role and when aerial reconnaissance from aircraft, balloons and airships, became a threat. ![]()
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