Thanks for sharing this
I was recently trying to find information on the same subject, namely when did painting schemes change from what's visible on pre-war photos to "gray is good for everyone" approach, but didn't find anything other than incidental data. Your post and links clear up a lot.
Edit:
Quote:
Originally Posted by gap
as reported by a WWII survivor - neutral ships retained their company colours for most of the war even when sailing in convoys. If I can add a personal note, this might have been sort of a nonsense. According to German engagement rules any ship sailing within Allied convoys, even though belonging to a neutral nation, would have been a valid target, and retaining peacetime colours would only have made her an easier prey. In other words, convoy protection would have nullified "neutrality privileges"
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Makes sense though if these neutral ships joined convoy only occasionally / not for entire voyage. As soon as they dispersed from convoy for any reason (like, say, Spanish ship crossing from America in convoy then diverting to Spain), neutral colours would at least give Germans a pause, whereas if they were camouflaged they would likely be treated as combatant.
Edit 2: Some photos:
These we know from TWoS loading screens:
Seems at least some ships wear black hull and brownish superstructure.
Tanker in the middle, black hull with company colors on the funnel.
Convoy in 1942, Hampton Roads. Shows merchant ships in grey, with brown decks, hulls painted with camouflage stripes:
There's a lot of pictures here from convoy dated 1941 - ships mostly gray, with some like brownish colour (or perhaps just rust?):
https://www.barnorama.com/vintage-pi...voy-from-1941/