Walking-out Uniforms

Under Swiss Army Dress regulations, Tenue A is the smartest, formal uniform worn as a walking-out and dress uniform. The exact situations in which one would wear Tenu A vary from unit to unit and across time periods (one former member of the Mech. and Light Troops recalls wearing it for more or less every meal in barracks), as does the exact form of the uniform.

Enlisted Personnel:

Ord. 26 to Ord. 49

For enlisted men, early Tenue A simply consisted of their best-kept service uniform, ordinarily with dress shoes instead of boots (although militiamen without suitable civilian shoes were also permitted to wear their marching boots if needed).

Ord. 72:

With the introduction of the Ordonnanz 72 uniform, enlisted men of the Swiss Army received a new style of Tenue A uniform. Worn with the standard polyster-lined jacket, this consisted of a pair of gabardine wool trousers and a simplified, more stylised Schiffchen (lacking the ear flaps and folding peak of the Tenu B version) from the same fabric, along with a special leather belt, which had a similar cut to the field belts worn by officers. 

Ord. 72/90

1990 saw a wide range of new Swiss Army equipment being introduced, including the Stgw. 90 assault rifle, GTE 90 webbing system, and TAZ 90 combat uniform. Following general trends across Europe, Tenue A walking-out uniforms were updated slightly, replacing the traditional Schiffli side cap with a beret. All troops received a black beret with a large crown, and a cap badge representing their divisional affiliation. The beret was worn in the French style, with the cap badge on the right side of the head and the crown pulled down (but not moulded) on the left. These berets were immediately unpopular for their looks, and would soon be replaced in 1995. The jacket, shirt, tie, trousers and belt were otherwise unchanged from Ord. 72.

The Ord. 72/90 uniform below is badged for a soldier crewing a Piranha ATGM tank destroyer variant in an infantry unit. The cap badge is a generic Swiss Army one, bearing a halberd in the centre, and does not designate membership of a specific division.

Ord. 95

[To add]

Officers:

Swiss officers would have to privately purchase their Tenue A uniforms. These were higher-quality, tailor-made uniforms from finer wool, available from a wide range of tailors across the country. Insignia for Tenue A uniforms differs from Tenue B in that it is slightly larger, and is embroidered with gold thread (rather than yellow). Officers would wear Tenue A with dress shoes and a Kepi (made from fine wool), along with a stylised stable belt with a large, square buckle with a Swiss crest. 

Unlike enlisted personnel, who were issued their uniforms by the Army, officers were required to privately purchase theirs from their choice of tailor. These ranged from large companies selling off-the-rack uniforms to small boutiques making them to-order. There are a myriad of subtle variations and types available, with examples from the upper end of the scale being entirely bespoke and thus unique.

While their Tenue B service uniforms would typically be similar to those of enlisted personnel, if better-fitting, officers' Tenue A walking-out uniforms were made from higher quality wool gabardine (in place of wool serge). They also frequently featured larger insignia, sometimes with bullion-esque gold thread embroidery. The left waist pocket usually contains a reinforced tab with a D-ring, from which a Dolch M43 (M43 Dagger) can be hung. 

In addition to their standard uniform, officers were also entitled (though not required) to purchase a number of variants and accessories for differing weather conditions. This included cotton khaki Sommerbluse (summer tunics) and wool gabardine Regenmantel (rain coats).

Ord. 26

[To be added]

Ord. 40

Below are photographs of an example of a privately-purchased Ord. 40 officer's uniform. The rank stars are sadly missing, but from the shadows and pin holes it is clear that it originally belonged to a Leutnant (Second Lieutenant), and the green backing on the colour tabs and epaulettes indicate membership of the Infantry Troops. The numbers on the epaulettes indicate 75 Battalion, a unit recruited from Canton St. Gallen. 

The original purchaser elected to have the trousers tailored with both belt loops and multiple options for fastening button braces. 

Ord. 49

The jacket pictured below is an example of an Ord. 49 Sommerbluse: a lightweight, cotton tunic which officers were allowed to purchase, if desired, for use in summer. This example is badged to an Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant) in 25 Pontonier Company.

It was made by Fabrique Suisse d'Uniformes SA (AKA Schweizer Uniformenfabrik AG; Swiss Uniform Factory plc.), a major player in the officers' uniforms industry who had outlets in several towns and kept a stock of off-the-rack items for sale at much lower prices than fully tailored examples.