The
outbreak of World War II found the U.S. Navy totally lacking direction for
colors and camouflage patterns for its amphibious forces. Thus with the
onset of landing operations at Guadalcanal, forces afloat began painting
ships, landing craft, and PT boats subject to inshore operations against a
jungle background in a series of greens and browns in largely homemade
patterns. In early 1943 these colors were officially revised, then revised
again later in the year, based on experience and studies. In 1944, the
Navy developed a final set of three greens and a brown to be used by the
amphibious and PT forces. This second set of U.S. Navy World War II paint
chips offers the full range of greens and browns developed and utilized
from 1942 through the end of the war. It also covers the neutral grays
developed in late 1944 as a result of a shortage of blue pigment. These
neutral grays were used in combination with each other and with the
earlier purple-blues. Also included are prewar Mahogany Flight Deck Stain
as used on the early carriers – LANGLEY, the LEXINGTON and YORKTOWN
classes, and WASP; and Mountbatten Pink Dark as used on some USN
destroyers.
This set contains 30 chips on three sheets and covers the following
colors:
Prewar
(1920s - 1930s)
Mahogany Flight
Deck Stain
1942:
Mountbatten Pink (Dark)
Brown 1A Green 1A
Brown 2A Green 2A
Brown 3A Green 3A
Brown 4A Green 4A
1943
Early Greens
5-HG Haze Green
5-OG Ocean Green
5-NG Navy Green
20-G Deck Green
1943
Revised Greens
5-PG Pale Green
5-LG Light Green
5-HG Haze Green (revised)
5-OG Ocean Green (revised)
5-NG Navy Green (revised)