Jun 04 ,2017

For many years, vests have been a symbol of the fleet. About what colors there are still striped vests - read the article of the military department "Sergeant".

The history of the marine undershirt began a very long time ago. Once upon a time, sailors, while away the time, knitted themselves comfortable and warm vests from wool, and for a hot climate - from cotton yarn. According to existing legends, the vest did not become striped in vain, there is a completely logical explanation for this.

English sailors in vests. It can be seen that the stripes are a little narrower than on domestic ones.

Sea monsters and magical camouflage

Sailors are probably the most superstitious people in the world. Killing a seagull is a bad omen, a woman on a ship is unfortunate. But the most vivid fantasy of the workers of the sea was played out when it came to the inhabitants of the sea depths. The imagination of sailors inhabited the abyss with huge squids, krakens, which could swallow a sailboat in one sitting. Sly mermaids with their angelic singing forced the sailors to rush overboard at their call, and gigantic sea snakes, unexpectedly emerging, grabbed the unfortunate guys and dragged them to the depths. There was a way out: to pretend to be already dead, to become like a skeleton. Most likely, this is how the stripes on the “sea soul” appeared. French sailors from Brittany are considered pioneers in this. The innovation quickly spread among sailors Western Europe at the beginning of the 16th century.

Ukrainian marines during the parade in traditional vests with black stripes.

The colors of the vests are the colors of history

There is a more practical explanation for the striped vest. Marine vest color is blue-white. The sailor in the striped shirt was easier to spot when he fell overboard. And against the background of light sails, the sailors climbing the shrouds were better visible to the officer standing on the deck, and it was easier for him to correct their actions. But on warships, the diversity of home-made vests irritated the officers, and the wearing of such shirts was almost universally forbidden to early XVIII century. Only after 100 years the vest becomes legal marine clothing, and in tsarist Russia it received official status in 1874 by decree of Alexander II. The number of stripes in the European fleet then varied from 12 to 21. A person has 12 pairs of ribs and the practical Dutch took this as a basis. The French regulated 21 bands - according to the number of the largest victories of Bonaparte. In general, today it all depends on the size of the shirt, the larger it is, the more stripes will fit on it.

Belarusian retired border guard in a green vest

In many CIS countries, a vest with orange stripes is used in the Ministry of Emergencies

The first sign of the change in the usual blue stripe to a different color in the Russian fleet was the introduction of green for the patrol fleet in 1912. Already in the mid-1960s, when Soviet army berets began to be introduced, a gradual “repainting” of vests began and their introduction in all military branches. In many ways, today the colors of the vests depend on the berets worn by the fighters.

Cherry / red vest - a sign internal troops(in Ukraine - the National Guard).

Tell me what color your shirt is and I'll tell you who you are

According to the established tradition in the young Armed Forces of Ukraine, the color of the vest by type of troops means the following. Dark blue traditional stripes on Navy vests. Submariners can be distinguished by black stripes, the color of the abyss. air landing troops wear sky blue stripes, and green - border guards. The special forces of the Internal Troops are easily recognizable by their maroon, and the SBU by their cornflower-blue stripes. The Ministry of Emergency Situations adopted the orange color, which means danger and a call for help.

Ukrainian sailors

Many are interested in why the stripes do not shed (unless, of course, the product is of high quality)? They can be printed on the finished fabric, that is, with paint, or they can be knitted in the process of making a knitted fabric with threads of two colors, such models are more expensive. If the paint is applied in compliance with all technological requirements and has the correct composition, it will never shed. The durability of paint on the material also depends on the composition and quality of the base on which it is applied. If this is a high-quality cotton product (kulny smooth surface, interlock, it is also a double-layer), then there will be no problems with paint. And if the model is rough and hard to the touch, it is better to refrain from acquiring it. Fabrics with a pile (lined) are usually made from yarn of 2 colors, and not dyed.

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A vest is a traditional garment for sailors; it is simply impossible to imagine a true sailor without this element of clothing. Vests are worn in winter and summer, they are worn by sailors, marines, and even paratroopers - despite the fact that the latter are not connected with the fleet. Where did this tradition come from - to wear a striped shirt, who invented it? Why did it take root in naval traditions, remains relevant to this day?

This is a relatively recent tradition, dating back a couple of centuries at most. It has firmly entered both the navy and army traditions.

The history of the appearance of the vest

The vest appeared in naval traditions relatively recently, but it has firmly entered the everyday life of sailors. Before the abolition of serfdom, they were taken to the service for 25 years, after which they switched to universal military service. In connection with these fundamental changes, the uniform worn by sailors was also replaced - this happened in 1874. It was during this period that the appearance of a tunic in army uniform occurred, and among sailors, tunics, which were not distinguished by convenience, were replaced by shirts. In summer, a sailor was supposed to wear a shirt made of white linen, and in winter, a shirt made of blue flannel. They were supposed to wear undershirts made of linen with blue and white stripes - the colors were chosen in accordance with the color of the St. Andrew's flag, the same for everything Russian fleet.

Interesting fact: vests are used not only by Russian, but also by French sailors, civilian and military.

The original name of the vest is bostrog, it quickly went out of use. A striped shirt became known as a vest or vest. Probably, this name appeared and was fixed due to the fact that this shirt really is a sailor's underwear.

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The main tasks of the vest

The upper shirts of a sailor have a wide neckline on the chest, which requires the obligatory wearing of clothes underneath. Piercing winds reign on the seas, the sailor needs additional protection from their effects. The vest can be woolen, knitted - for winter time, compacted and insulated - for divers. There was a period when winter vests in the Red Army were made from camel wool, which warmed the body especially well. The summer vest is made of cotton, which provides ventilation to the body and prevents overheating. Since this clothing was created for the period of sailing, it allows a person to stay on deck for a long time in any weather, to protect himself from the cold in a piercing wind, working with gear and sails.

A sailor's clothing must withstand any vagaries of the weather, and in addition, it must make a person noticeable from afar.

Why are striped vests

Sailors working with sails and rigging must be visible so that any mistake in their actions can be immediately corrected. The vest makes a person noticeable from afar, the sailor stands out beautifully against the background of white sails due to blue stripes. White stripes make a person visible from afar on the water if he broke and fell overboard. The colors taken from the St. Andrew's flag turned out to be very practical. And the vest also creates an optical effect that there are more people on deck than there really are. This was noted both in early times, and during the Second World War, in subsequent wars.

On August 19, Russia celebrates the birthday of the Russian vest. It was on this day in 1874, at the initiative of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich Romanov, that Emperor Alexander II signed a decree introducing new form, which the vest (a special "underwear" shirt) was introduced as part of the mandatory uniform of the Russian sailor.

Their professional holiday workers of the sea and river fleet annually on the first Sunday in July.

How the vest looked before, what the stripes are and what their color means, see the infographic.

The vest appeared during the heyday of the sailing fleet in Brittany (France), presumably in the 17th century.

The vests had a boat neckline and three-quarter sleeves and were white with dark blue stripes. In Europe in those days, striped clothes were worn by social outcasts and professional executioners. But for the Breton sailors, according to one version, the vest was considered lucky clothing for the duration of sea voyages.

In Russia, the tradition of wearing vests began to take shape, according to some sources, from 1862, according to others - from 1866. Instead of narrow tunics with uncomfortable stand-up collars, Russian sailors began to wear comfortable flannel Dutch shirts with a cutout on the chest. A shirt was worn under the shirt - a vest.

At first, vests were issued only to participants in long-distance campaigns and were a matter of special pride. As one of the reports of that time says: “the lower ranks ... mainly put them on on Sundays and holidays when leaving ashore ... and in all cases when it was required to be smartly dressed ... ". The order signed on August 19, 1874 by Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich finally fixed the vest as part of the uniform. This day can be considered the birthday of the Russian vest.

The vest has a great advantage over other underwear shirts. Tightly fitting the body, it does not interfere with free movement during work, retains heat well, is convenient when washing, and dries quickly in the wind.

This type of light marine clothing has not lost its significance today, although sailors now rarely have to climb the shrouds. Over time, the vest came into use in other branches of the military, although in few places it is an official part of the uniform. Nevertheless, this wardrobe item is used in the ground forces, and even in the police.

Why is the vest striped and what does the color of the stripes mean?

The blue and white transverse stripes of the vests corresponded to the colors of the Russian naval St. Andrew's flag. In addition, sailors dressed in such shirts were clearly visible from the deck against the background of the sky, sea and sails.

The tradition of making the stripes multi-colored was strengthened in the 19th century - the sailor's belonging to a particular flotilla was determined by color. After the collapse of the USSR, the colors of the stripes of the vests were "distributed" among the various branches of the military.

What does the color of the stripes on the vest mean:

Black: submarine forces and marines;
cornflower blue: presidential regiment and special forces of the FSB;
light green: border troops;
light blue: Airborne Forces;
maroon: Ministry of Internal Affairs;
orange: Ministry of Emergency Situations.

What is guis?

Guys in the Navy is called a collar that is tied over a uniform. The real meaning of the word "guis" (from the Dutch geus - "flag") - naval ensign. The flag is hoisted daily on the prow of ships of the 1st and 2nd ranks during anchorage from 8 am to sunset.

The history of the appearance of the guis is rather prosaic. In the Middle Ages in Europe, men wore long hair or wigs, sailors braided their hair into ponytails and pigtails. To protect against lice, the hair was smeared with tar. To prevent the tar from staining their clothes, the sailors covered their shoulders and back with a protective leather collar, which could be easily wiped from dirt.

Over time, the leather collar was replaced with a cloth one. Long hairstyles are a thing of the past, but the tradition of wearing a collar remains. In addition, after the abolition of wigs, a square fabric collar was used for insulation - in cold windy weather, it was tucked under clothes.

Why are there three stripes on the jacket?

There are several versions origin of three stripes on the guis. According to one of them, three stripes symbolize three major victories of the Russian fleet:

At Gangut in 1714;
near Chesma in 1770;
at Sinop in 1853.

It should be noted that sailors from other countries also have stripes on the guis, the origin of which is explained in a similar way. Most likely, this repetition occurred as a result of borrowing form and legend. Who first invented the stripes is not known for certain.

According to another legend, the founder of the Russian fleet, Peter I, had three squadrons. The first squadron had one white stripe on the collars. The second has two, and the third, especially close to Peter, has three strips. Thus, the three stripes began to mean a special proximity to Peter of the fleet guards.

First of all, by the vest you can determine the type of troops

Do not be surprised that in Russia there is such a holiday - the Day of the Russian Vest, which is celebrated on August 19th. Today, a striped undershirt is worn by sailors and marines, paratroopers and border guards, special forces national guard and emergency rescuers.

Wanted to cheat death

If we turn to history, the first naval vests appeared on the Breton fleet as early as the 16th century. Then they were exactly 12 black and white stripes, according to the number of ribs in a person. It is believed that in this way the sailors wanted to cheat death itself. They believed that the "bony" would take them for dead and bypass them. This belief did not appear by chance; in those days, traveling by sea was extremely dangerous.

It is known that French sailors already had 21 stripes on their vests. Each of them symbolized one of the major victories of Napoleon. Vests were first used in the Russian Navy on August 19, 1874. It is on this day Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov signed a decree on the introduction of a new uniform. At first, the vest was considered a form of clothing for "the lower ranks of ships and naval crews." The blue and white transverse stripes on the shirt symbolized the St. Andrew's flag, the official banner of the Russian Navy.

Navy vests

History says that initially the white-and-blue striped vest belonged exclusively to the sailors of the Russian military fleet. Even at the end of the 19th century, the marine vest consisted of white and blue stripes. Interestingly, then the white stripes were much wider. On a modern sailor's vest, the white and blue stripes are the same width.

Previously, vests were made from cotton and wool, which were used in equal proportions. Now in most cases 100% natural cotton is used. The service life of a vest in the navy is one year.

Marines

Even during the Great Patriotic War, the Nazis well remembered the black and white vests of the marines. There is even a legend that German soldiers and their allies called Soviet marines "striped devils". Many may think that such a nickname appeared due to the courage and courage of the sailors, but there is another reason for this. The Europeans well remembered that they once wore striped clothes for executioners.

It is interesting that the marines often dressed in the uniform of the ground forces for disguise, but they did not part with the vests, considering them to be their amulet.

Airborne vest

It is very difficult to imagine a paratrooper without a vest. IN last years on Airborne Forces Day, putting on vests has become a good tradition not only for the paratroopers themselves, but also for their wives and children.

If you look more closely, then on the paratroopers' vests with white, light blue stripes alternate, which symbolize the color of the sky in clear weather. A number of sources indicate that officially vests have become a garment in the Airborne Forces since 1969. According to other sources, the paratroopers put on vests when Vasily Margelov commanded the Airborne Forces.

Vest for the border troops

Since the 1990s, vests with stripes of different colors began to appear in other troops. So, border guards began to wear vests with green stripes. The paratroopers who served at that time said that in the late 80s the Vitebsk Airborne Division was transferred to the KGB of the USSR, as a result, the blue vests and berets were "repainted" in green color, which was perceived by the former paratroopers as an insult to their military honor. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the division went to Belarus, where it again became a division of the Airborne Forces. And the tradition of wearing green vests by border guards remained.

Ministry of Emergency Situations, special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Russian Guard

Currently, one of the attributes of rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are vests with white and orange stripes. Vests with brown stripes are worn by representatives of the special forces of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as the Russian Guard.

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August 19 of this year marks exactly 140 years since, in 1874, by the imperial decree of Alexander II, the vest was officially included in the list of ammunition mandatory for Russian sailors to wear. Since then, this date has been considered the birthday of the Russian vest, and the striped shirt itself has firmly entered the life of the Russian sailor. But the story of its origin is still shrouded in mystery.

MIKE OF THE DEADMAN

It is believed that a sailor who first set off to the open sea (whether on a fishing boat, a merchant ship or a military cruiser) immediately joins the brotherhood of brave conquerors of the sea. There are a lot of dangers out there, and sailors are the most superstitious people in the world. And here is one of the main sea beliefs associated with dark and light stripes applied to the vest.

It turns out that, unlike land citizens, every real sailor is sure that the abyss is inhabited by various demons and mermaids, and each of them is a serious danger to the conquerors of the seas and oceans. To deceive them, they used a vest: it was believed that, having put on a similar shirt, the sailors seemed to the spirits of the sea already dead, from which only skeletons remained.

The fishermen of French Brittany were the first to put on a robe with black and white stripes to protect themselves from the spirits of the sea. At the beginning of the 17th century, this superstition spread throughout the Old World.

Starting in 1852, according to the French standard, the vest was required to have 21 stripes - according to the number of Napoleon's major victories. In turn, the Dutch and the British preferred a vest exclusively with 12 transverse stripes - according to the number of ribs in a person.

PAPER SHIRT

Speaking seriously, the appearance of the vest on the sea was dictated by the harsh circumstances of sea voyages and it is very strange that it did not appear before the 17th century. Not wanting to draw information from dubious sources, the author of the article turned to a familiar rear admiral with a request to tell about where this striped shirt actually came from. The admiral laughed and said: "Even at the school, the teachers told us: the stripes on the vest - so that we can see the nets against the background of the sails."

Indeed, while swimming or naval battle it was vital for the boatswain of the ship to see how many people were at work. A man in a striped blue-and-white shirt is perfectly visible against the background of both white and colored sails. In a situation where the sailor was overboard, the vest again greatly facilitated his search and rescue. But the main thing for which the sailors fell in love with the vest is its composition.

For example, after the introduction of a vest into the uniform of Russian sailors, an official document said: “A shirt knitted from wool in half with paper,” that is, with cotton. This made it possible to ventilate the body during the heat and warm it during the cold.

The first vests were knitted. Sailors during distant wanderings sometimes crocheted and knitted their favorite clothes themselves - this took their leisure time and very calmed the nerves.

OUTLAW

Despite the popularity of the vest, to XVIII century she was banned. The reason for the ban, despite the obvious stupidity, was logical enough. Management naval forces a number of European countries considered the vest to be a non-statutory form of clothing. Indeed, sailors often knitted it by eye, not observing the standards for the quality of the material and the length of the strips.

In addition, at that time, state-owned naval uniforms appeared in most countries. So the vest for almost a hundred years disappeared from the active use of sailors. Some sailors, out of old habit, put on a vest under their clothes, but they were severely punished for this.

The striped shirt was rehabilitated only in the middle of the 19th century, when the Dutch marine uniform came into fashion: a short pea coat, flared trousers, jackets with a deep cutout on the chest, from which stripes were visible. From that moment on, every sailor was required to have at least three vests in his wardrobe.

"SEA SOUL"

In Russia, the vest has become a symbol of reckless courage, heroism and contempt for death. Today it is difficult to say when Russian sailors first saw striped shirts on their foreign colleagues. Most likely, this acquaintance happened in the 17th century in Arkhangelsk, during a visit to the port by English or Dutch merchant ships.

It is surprising why Peter I, who almost completely adopted the maritime traditions of Holland, did not immediately borrow the vest. Only in August 1874 did Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich Romanov put before Emperor Alexander II a decree on the inclusion of a vest in a naval uniform.

In the first Russian vest, the distance between the blue stripes was approximately 4.5 cm. It was believed that the blue and white scale of the vest repeats the colors of the St. Andrew's flag. The white stripes were much wider than the blue ones. Equality between them was established only in 1912. From that moment on, the width of the strips was a quarter of an inch, in modern terms, about 1 cm. Cotton was now used exclusively as a material.

For the first time, the production of vests took place abroad. Only with time in St. Petersburg was established its own production at the Kersten knitting factory, after the revolution it was renamed the "Red Banner".

The striped shirt did not become casual at once. At first, it was intended exclusively for long trips. In normal mode, the lower ranks could wear it only on Sundays, on public holidays, and also when leaving the shore. Thus, the vest from a convenient household item for some time turned into an element dress uniform. But the sailors still tried to wear it every day, affectionately calling it "the soul of the sea."

STRIPED DEVILS

Since 1893, the vest has been included in the uniform of the flotilla of the Separate Border Guard Corps on the White, Black and Caspian Seas. The classic blue stripes in 1898 were replaced by green stripes, as they remain with the border guards to this day.

The special forces of the internal troops wear a vest with maroon stripes, the special forces of the FSB and the Presidential Regiment - with cornflower blue, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations - with orange. Marines, like submariners, dress in a black striped vest.

Why were these colors chosen? This is a secret with seven seals. But it is well known for what merits the vest from the sea migrated to land. The reason for this is the use of sailors in land military operations in the Civil and Great Patriotic War. For reasons unknown to historians, the sailors turned out to be better fighters than their land counterparts.

No wonder the enemy in fear called marines"striped devils". Until now, a saying is popular in Russia: “There are few of us, but we are in vests!”. During the war years, it was supplemented by another: "One sailor - a sailor, two sailors - a platoon, three sailors - a company." In the first battle on land on June 25, 1941, near Liepaja, Baltic sailors put to flight the Wehrmacht soldiers, who had previously captured half of Europe.

Their favorite vest also played a role in the successful fulfillment of combat missions by Soviet sailors. The fact is that the sailors went on the attack, as a rule, in the same vests, the stripes of which created an optical illusion more people than it really was.

The command, making sure that the sailors never retreat, threw the "striped devils" into a breakthrough in the most difficult sectors of the front. It was because of the courage of the sailors on the fields of the Great Patriotic War on July 6, 1969 that the vest entered the uniform of the airborne troops.

Dmitry TUMANOV