Ship Camouflage
Instructions
United States Navy
Ships - 2
Bureau of Ships
January 1941
Chapter 3
Detailed Camouflage Directions
Camouflage
Paint.
All paint must be mat or dull, not glossy. The paint
of formulas 5-D, 5-O, 5-L and 82 is satisfactory in this respect.
Dark Gray paint formula 5-D, and Black paint formula
82 are issued to the service ready for application without further addition of
tinting color. Light Gray paint formula 5-L and Ocean Gray formula 5-O are to
be prepared when needed from untinted white base paint formula 5-U, by adding
tinting colors which are issued to the service in paste form.
General
Directions Common to All Systems.
The camouflage painting need not be exact or carried
into corners. Small gear, wires, rigging, and areas permanently in
shadow, as under boats, etc., need not be painted with the camouflage
colors. There is no objection to exact or careful painting which may be
desired for the sake of good appearance at close range.
All approximately vertical surfaces above the top of
the stacks shall be painted Light Gray 5-L in all the systems. Some of
the plates are incorrect in that they fail to show this detail.
All horizontal surfaces except wood decks shall be
painted Dark Gray 5-D in all the systems. The systems differ only in the
painting of the vertical surfaces. In case of doubt, as on sloping
surfaces, use Dark Gray 5-D.
All bright or shiny objects, no matter how
insignificant, shall be painted, covered, or removed.
Glass windows shall be covered or removed, especially
during the day in sunny weather, and at night when anticipating searchlight
discovery. Insofar as conditions permit, similar precautions shall be
taken on airport lenses.
Dark Gray
System.
Paint all vertical surfaces, such as sides of hull,
sides of superstructure, stacks, lower masts (but not pole masts), etc., Dark
Gray 5-D.
Graded System.
Paint all vertical surfaces above the deck edge, such
as sides of deckhouses, superstructure, stacks, masts (and pole masts) etc.,
Light Gray 5-L. Paint the sides of the hull with three bands, the upper
band Light Gray 5-L, the middle band Ocean Gray 5-O, and the lower (nearest
the waterline) Dark Gray 5-D as illustrated on plates 2 and 3. In case
the ship has an excessively great shear, or has a forecastle, the bands should
be of approximately equal width at the bow, retaining the widths of the lower
two bands and diminishing the width of the upper band from forward aft.
Light Gray
System.
Paint all vertical surfaces, such as sides of hull,
sides of superstructure, stacks, masts (and pole masts) etc., Light Gray 5-L.
Black System.
Paint all vertical surfaces, such as sides of hull,
sides of superstructure, stacks, masts (but not pole masts) etc., Black
formula 82.
Painted Bow
Wave.
The pattern drawn to scale of the painted bow wave
are shown in Plates 4, 5,
6, 7 and
8, respectively, for battleships, aircraft
carriers, heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyers. The upper edge
of the bow wave is painted white; the dark body of the bow wave is painted a
dark blue or a dark gray. In case the bow wave is painted on a ship which is painted dark gray, as in Measure 1, the bow wave painting
merely amounts to outlining the upper edge of the wave in white.
It is to be noted that the painted bow wave is not to
be put on the black ship of Measure 4, because of the enhancement of
visibility occasioned by the white edge of the wave.
Wood Decks.
Wood decks, except on submarines, shall not be
darkened pending further instructions. The best paint or stain for this
purpose is being investigated.
Aircraft
Carrier Decks.
The question has not been decided as to the degree
that the flight decks of aircraft carriers should be colored for low
visibility to aerial observers as compared to adequate visibility for
operation of their own aircraft. The color of the top wings of planes is
a light shade of paint.
White Uniforms.
White uniforms should not be worn in exposed places
on a ship painted for low visibility.
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