Windproof Smocks are

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

. They usually come with

hood Hood may refer to: Covering Apparel * Hood (headgear), type of head covering ** Article of academic dress ** Bondage hood, sex toy * Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt Anatomy * Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitoris * Hood, a flap of ...

s and matching

trousers Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants ( American, Canadian and Australian English) are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending ...

worn as over garments to prevent cold air, and in some cases water, passing through.

Examples

A garment with a similar appearance and colours to the

Denison Smock The Denison smock was a coverall jacket issued to Special Operations Executive (SOE) agents, the Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom), Parachute Regiment, the Glider Pilot Regiment, Air Landing Regiments, air observation post squadrons, British C ...

, 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 A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

squads. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the "SAS Windproof". It was not designed much for

parachuting Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

, and lacked a crotch flap, having a

drawstring A drawstring (draw string, draw-string) is a string, rope or lace used to " draw" ( gather, or shorten) fabric or other material. Ends of a drawstring are often terminated with a sheath called an aglet. The ends may be tied to hold the drawstr ...

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 design, with colours similar to that of the Denison. 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

Disruptive Pattern Material Disruptive Pattern Material (DPM) is the commonly used name of a camouflage pattern used by the British Armed Forces as well as many other armed forces worldwide, particularly in former British colonies. The main variants of DPM are a four-colo ...

(DPM) introduced in the late 1960s. The current issue Windproof Smock is in the latest MTP camouflage design. The camouflage pattern of the " SAS Windproof" was used as the basis of the post

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Belgian Paratrooper Smock with very similar overtrousers.

DPM Windproof Smock

The Smock, Windproof, DPM (or DPM Windproof Smock) was issued alongside the standard DPM Combat Jackets by the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. The

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terr ...

Regiment was the first unit to adopt its own design of DPM Windproof Smock which it wore in preference to the 68 Pattern and later combat jackets. Aside from being made from a windproof material, it differed from the standard combat jackets in being cut to fit more loosely, allowing it to fit over other layers of clothing more easily, and in having an integral hood. Where the standard jackets were closed by a full-length zipper, covered by a buttoned flap, and buttoned cuffs, the windproof smock used velcro to close the flap over the zipper and to fasten the cuffs. The buttons fitted to the Windproof Smock (on the four, expanding front pockets, and the small arm pocket for the First Field Dressing) were all of an overlarge type, to ease use by cold or gloved fingers. Later, a similar DPM Windproof smock was introduced (the Smock, Windproof, Arctic), this was primarily issued to Royal Marine Commandos and Army units assigned to the AMF(L) for

arctic warfare Cold-weather warfare, also known as cold-region warfare, arctic warfare or winter warfare, encompasses military operations affected by snow, ice, Mud season, thawing conditions, or cold, both on land and at sea, as well as the strategies and t ...

. This differed from the Smock, Windproof, DPM in that it had button-on rank tabs on the chest and back, as well as a wire 'stiffener' for the hood. The general issue Combat Soldier 95 combat jacket followed this pattern, but omitting the rank tab on the back which tended to snag on rucksacks, camouflage netting and so forth.

References

{{reflist Military uniforms British military uniforms