French Pataugas/Chaussures de brousse Francaises (French bush/jungle boots).

[Willmore]

Hello everyone.

Pictured is a pair of French bush/jungle boots, commonly known as Pataugas or Chaussures de brousse that were recently added to the collection. They are constructed from a green canvas material (linen or cotton), have thick rubber soles and are a nice size (UK-10.5 US-11.5 Euro-45). I am unsure of the date of production of this pair, but were likely made in the 1950s or 1960s. If anyone can accurately date these, maybe with some evidence it would be very appreciated.





























In the link below there is a very brief mention of this type of sole/tread pattern, seventh post down.

Dien Bien Phu (4): Helmets, Boots, Webbing Equipment (4/4) | French Indochina War, Algerian War Reenactors

Same sole/tread pattern in the first post, fifth photo down -

Chaussures de brousse francaises


Information -

After the Second World War, the French were busy with post war reconstruction of their former colonial influence in Indochina. They had no specific footwear for tropical climates. In 1948, France began developing the concept of its own canvas boots with rubber soles and its detailed specification. By request of the French Intendance (Quartermaster Service) in the Far East (l'Intendance en Extrême Orient) in the early 1950s the first model of canvas boots with rubber soles for use in hot climates ("Chaussures de brousse", literally "boots for the bush") was created.

These early boots were dark olive-green in colour, they featured structural seams covered by stitched black cotton ribbons, black cotton bootlaces were threaded into aluminium eyelets, and the black rubber out-sole was relatively thin and stinky, spreading strong rubber odour around. The construction of the boot's top was reinforced by metal rivets at the base of the lacing system. Further on this early model was widely used in the beginning of the war in Algeria. By 1952, there were several modifications to such boots, and they used to be manufactured both by military industry factories and by private producers (contractors of the Defence Ministry of France). The main requirement was the ability to fulfil the requirements for materials and quality established by the military specification.

Among the currently marketed original "Pataugas" a significant part are made by "Wissart". This manufacturer used to make all existing versions of these canvas boots - high and low, with the cuffs and two buckles and without them, with black and green rubber out-soles, with different number of lacing eyelets, with green canvas top of various shades, from olive to the one, similar to the standard US Army colour of tropical uniforms (OG-107 Tropical Combat Uniform jungle fatigues), which was used from 1952 to 1989.

The above information along with Wissart produced examples can be found in the link below -

Ł "Pataugas" - canvas and rubber boots of the French army ("Pataugas" - les chaussures de brousse de l'armee francaise)

Kind regards,

Will.

[earlymb]

Very nice pair! They could even be newly-made, I think Wissart (and Paladium) are still around? Are the rubber parts black or a really dark green?

[Willmore]

Hi there.

Thank you, I am really happy to have picked them up.

Despite the lack of any production date or stamps, they conform to originals and are definitely new old stock/unissued, not a recently made pair.

Wissart and Palladium are still around but the modern versions are different in style, colour and labelling for what I have seen. My camera is not the best, but the rubber parts are jet black.

Examples are show in the links above.

Kind regards,

Will.

[earlymb]

They will look great in any collection of French militaria; those shoes are quite hard to find outside of France.

I bleached a pair of modern Palladiums in my size to wear, they look OK I think but I'm still contemplating if I should paint the rubber parts. I did remove the small tag:

[Willmore]

They will look great in any collection of French militaria; those shoes are quite hard to find outside of France.

I bleached a pair of modern Palladiums in my size to wear, they look OK I think but I'm still contemplating if I should paint the rubber parts. I did remove the small tag:

They really are hard to find for sure and I picked them up at a militaria fair for a lot less then they sell on eBay.

Your Palladiums have turned out really good. I read on another forum that you used a mixture of water and bleach to change the colour.

Could you use black permanent marker to colour in the soles?

Kind regards,

Will.

[earlymb]

Yes, a 50/50 mix of water and bleach applied with a toothbrush and rinsed off almost immediately. I painted a small patch at the underside of the sole with a cheap acrylic black paint to see how it holds up; it seems OK but I saw someone on youtube paint rubber soles with acrylic paint mixed with Modpodge to help it bond better. I don't have that but I could try white glue. Obviously it would wear off the upper parts of the profile right away anyway so I can't put my feet up anymore...