An online database of camouflage used by 
United State Naval Warships during WWII


The Development of Naval Camouflage 1914 - 1945 
Part IV: United States Navy - The Interwar Years

By Alan Raven

 (Article reprinted courtesy of Plastic Ship Modeler Magazine issue #97/2)

WAR

The abrupt entry of America into the war on December 7, 1941 found the fleets variously painted, but every major combat vessel wore Camouflage in one from or another.  In the Atlantic, ships carried Measure 12A, or Measure 12R.  In the Pacific the battleships were still in Measure 1, two destroyers in Measure 1A, two in 1B, one in 1C, one in Measure 12, and a few destroyers and cruisers carried Measure 11.  The ships of the Asiatic Fleet were painted overall in their unofficial Cavite Blue, a camouflage type for which no measure number was ever assigned.  Coast Guard ships had long dispensed with overall white and in the Atlantic wore Measures 1, or 12A, or 12R.

The entry into the war in the Atlantic and Pacific produced for awhile a state of uncertainty as far as camouflage was concerned.  Ships of all types were suddenly being moved around between the commands and to different areas of operations.  Additionally many new ships, mainly destroyers, were entering service and large numbers were undergoing refit to upgrade their anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare capability.  Admiral King was promoted from C in C Atlantic to become CNO (Chief of Naval Operations).  This effectively removed his influence on camouflage matters, which up to this point had been the deciding and controlling factor on Atlantic Fleet vessels.

The introduction of Measure 12R, coupled with Admiral King's promotion, sowed the seeds for a wide and sometime wild variety of Measure12R patterns to appear.  The British influence began to make itself felt, with the introduction of an American Western Approaches camouflage, known in the USN as Measure 16.  British practice also began to permeate the Measure 12R designs, and Mountbatten Pink was officially adopted in the Atlantic.  Also, a few WW I style course deception dazzle designs (Measure 17) were being carried by mid-1942.

The wording of Measure 12R in respect to how the colors were to produce a broken dividing line was confusing to some, leading to a very loose translation as to how ships should be painted. When coupled with observation of the British Disruptive designs this produced the widest variety of patterns.  They ranged from the smallest dapple or mottle designs such as worn by the cruiser JUNEAU in January 1942, to the very complicated patterns such as seen on the destroyer FARENHOLT in mid-1942.  The colors varied from those laid down in the instructions, which called for the use of 5-N, 5-O and 5-H.  In a few instances white was added, which no doubt came from British practice.  An example of white being employed can be found on the cruiser JUNEAU after her April 1942 refit.  This particular pattern, although officially Measure 12R, bore no resemblance to the instructions, with a foreshortened effect added at the bow and stern by the use of white.  The entire upper structure was in a very small mottle, the hull divided in a wavy horizontal line.  The colors used were 5-N, 5-O, 5-H and White.

Patterns were often repeated according to thc yard from which ships were first painted, upon delivery from the builder, or after refit.  Norfolk Navy Yard tended to follow the instructions for 12R as written, while places like New York Navy Yard produced some of the most complicated patterns.  By March 1942 so varied had the patterns become that it bore in most cases absolutely no relation to l2A.  As a concealment camouflage its function was essentially lost, and because the average size panel was usually quite small, it did not produce any deception as to identity or type of vessel.  From January to September 1942 almost every newly delivered or refitted warship of major type from the Fast Coast yards sported a Measure 12R design.  A great many of these ships, after working up on the East Coast, were sent to the Pacific Fleet still in their Measure 12R camouflage.  These ships that arrived in the Pacific up to the end of June 1942 went on to the combat zones still wearing 12R pattern, quite often retaining the scheme for several months.  For example, the cruisers JUNEAU and ATLANTA which had arrived on station mid-year were still wearing dappled designs at the time of their loss in November. Vessels arriving in the Pacific after mid-year usually had their 12R camouflage changed upon arrival at Pearl Harbor to overall 5-N (Navy Blue) Measure 21.  

 

Back Page ] Home ] Table of Contents ] Next Page ]