An online database of camouflage used by
United State Naval Warships during WWII
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THE
DEVELOPMENT OF NAVAL CAMOUFLAGE 1914-1945 it
was deemed impractical to try to describe in full the huge number of one-off
schemes and patterns that were employed. However, what has been given will
enable modelers to paint their work with a degree of certainty not hitherto
available. The field of naval camouflage in terms of specific ship patterns and
colors is still very much virgin territory. A lack of photographic evidence will
always mean a number of gaps (some of major vessels) will never be filled. This
applies to both navies. There
were many people who helped in various ways over the past twenty seven years. I
would like however, to give special thanks to the wife of the late Del Palmieri,
who generously allowed me complete access to her husband’s files, without
which the American story could not have been told. AIDS
TO IDENTIFICATION One
of the permanent problems of warfare is that of identification. Since World War
II this has tended to be done electronically, but before then, it had generally
been accomplished by visual means. Where ships at sea are concerned, it has
always been of the greatest importance to identify friend from foe, and as
rapidly as possible. During
the advent of sail, identification was made by recognition of physical
characteristics and by the use of flown insignia and ensigns. With the
introduction of fast, steam powered warships, especially the destroyers, and of
engagements at longer and longer ranges, the solution of hoisting flags,
pennants, etc., became impractical. Although there was the need for another form
of recognition, the matter did not come to a head until World War I, when early
confused encounters between British and German destroyers demanded some sort of
visual aid, one that could immediately identify friend from foe. The
author has no data on what German methods were employed, but the British sought
to rectify the problem by two means. The first (in early 1915) saw several
destroyers fitted out with Large X shaped battens attached to the fore
topmasts. Although of use, the battens were subject to damage due to heavy
weather, and by late 1915 when destroyers began to change from black to light
grey, a large black, or very dark grey panel of at least 50 feet in length, was
painted onto the hull amidships. At about the same time, other destroyers
retained their black hulls, but had the upper works including funnels and masts
painted in a light grey. Where destroyers operated and fought in flotillas, it
was of the greatest importance to keep track of, and identify the leader of the
flotilla, and to this end all leaders were painted overall in light grey from
mid 1914. By
mid 1916 the destroyers had discarded their black hull, light upper works
scheme, and adopted overall light grey. The Battle of Jutland, in which
destroyers on both sides engaged in a sometimes confusing series of actions
prompted the widespread use of large pendant numbers on the sides of the hull,
usually by the bridge structure. In spite of this attempt to identify friend
from foe, the problem of quick identification continued for the remainder of the
war, the best method being where the group of ships acted in concert, and by
keeping track of same. This was a state only attained and retained by constant
training. The
Americans, having taken note of the British experience, decided to use very
large pendant numbers on the bows, numbers that appear from photographs to be
about nine feet in height. In
the twenty year period between the wars the Americans continued the use of very
large numbers on the bow for destroyers, while the British used much smaller
numbers, but supplemented them by the widespread use of black funnel bands for
flotilla and individual ship identification. An
interesting but abortive experiment by the American Navy involved the use of
hidden identification hull numbers for destroyers and markings for larger
vessels. These markings and numbers were composed of a paint that had a
combination of two different spectral characteristics, which would appear the
same as the surrounding area when viewed normally, but when viewed through a red
filter the difference could easily be seen. Tests made in June 1938 showed
sufficient promise for further experiments to be conducted, but for reasons
unknown, these were never carried out. The question of adopting this unique form
of identification was never raised again. Other
forms of identification in the inter-war years included the use of national
insignia carried on the roofs of turrets to identify non- combatants during
times of conflict, such as the Japanese war with China, and the Spanish Civil
War. With the advent of World War II the question of who was friend and foe
remained, but with a change of emphasis. As far as the allies were concerned,
the widespread use of tactical radio and the increasing use of radar decreased
the need for visual identification. For
the Italians, and especially the Germans (the latter making infrequent sorties)
there was a need to identify oneself to friendly aircraft, which tended to
assume any warship was American or British, and acted accordingly. To counter
this assumption, many German warships, from battleships down to destroyers,
painted a large swastika on the deck near the bow. To assist identification by
U-Boats, and therefore avoid being torpedoed, there was the wearing of large
bands of black and white running diagonally from the waterline to the top of the
superstructure. This latter practice was common during 1941-1942. Large warships
that were painted with black and white bands included BISMARCK, LEIPZIG,
NURNBERG, PR1NZ EUGEN, EMDEN, and LUTZOW. The identification band practice was
not used after 1942 for reasons that are not known. The Italian Navy was faced
with a somewhat similar situation as regards aircraft, and so for their ships,
adopted a series of red and white diagonal bands painted across the foredeck. The
British, like the Americans, made extensive use of pendant numbers on the sides
of the hull for individual ship recognition. In the American Navy these were
(with the exception of late war amphibious forces) quite small, usually no more
than four feet in, height. The British made use of larger letters but in lower
contrasting tones. As an additional aid, but on an occasional basis, there was
the wearing of funnel bands by the British using combinations of red, black and
white, There was also the use of checkered funnel bands on some escort group
vessels, along with the fairly common practice of wearing numbers on the funnel
indicating to which escort group the vessel belonged.
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