About merchant ship wartime colours

[gap]

Interesting read:

https://www.shipsnostalgia.com/threa...colours.29141/

summarizing:

1. Grey paint was the general rule for Allied merchant vessels. Some ships had funnel tops and top half of masts painted white so to blend with the sky.
   
   
2. Apparently there was no official rule prescribing the above, so the grey paint was more a matter of common selse by shipmasters/shipowners than else.
   
   
3. As a consequence of the previous point, there was not a sudden transition from peacetime colours to wartime grey. Some ships - probably the ones whose trading routes were closer to the main war theatres - were repainted at the earliest opportunity after the war broke out, whereas a few others are reported to have switched colours as late as January 1941.
   
   
4. Ships built during the war were delivered in grey paint. Late in the war a few Liberty ships might have sported dazzle comoufflages too, but that was not universal.
   
   
5. The implementation of safety rules was somehow more strict for ships sailing in convoys. These rules included:
   
   • avoiding bright hull/superstructure colours;
   • not having the ship name painted on the hull;
   • no dark funnel smokes (this would have ruled out old coal-burning steamers from convoys).
   
   
6. As far as I can understand, breaking the first of the aforementioned rules would have had no other consequence than a harsh reprimand by the convoy commodore, which implies that, occasionally, ships in peacetime colours might still be found within Allied convoys.
   
   
7. Demonstration of the above, is that - 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" or, even worse, it could have rendered them counterproductive, but this is probably something which was not so clear at that time.

If you have any other information on the subject, be it in form of pictures, documents, first-hand reports or simple impressions, you are welcomed to share them here

[gap]

Quick addendum regarding Liberty ships and dazzle camo patterns:

http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum...1eee0d#p822146

Originally Posted by reigels @ shipmodels.info

No dazzle's at all on the Atlantic for Liberty freighters (or tankers).

The only dazzle painted liberties I've seen were the Navy conversions for support and repair ships, predominantly found in the Pacific.

Ocean Gray is often cited as the as-build color for some Liberty ship yards, but there is a huge amount of variation (and weathering) in actual use.

[kapuhy]

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:

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"

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/

[gap]

Originally Posted by kapuhy

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.

Glad that you find my post useful. When I looked for the missing information I had exactly your beautifully painted ships in mind!

If you ask me, the bulk of British and Commonwealth vessels, especially deep-sea ships and ships expected to sail in convoys, should start painted in peacetime colours and turn grey within the first one or two weeks of war, at max.

Conversely, coastal vessels, especially the ones belonging to far British colonies and to other cobelligerents, could be made to follow a somewhat slower re-painting curve, some old and lesser exposed ships retaining their vivid company colours until mid to late 1940 - or even later for the USA and Latin American countries which entered the war at a later stage and were substantially umprepared to it. A few inshore vessels which only operated within the relatively safe waters of ports or in their immediate vicinity, e.g. lighters, barges, tugboats, and the likes, could even be let to retain their colors (mixed with a generous dose of rust) until the end of the conflict.

Originally Posted by kapuhy

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.

You make a good point here but you probably chose the wrong example: though a few Spanish ships and boats were torpedoed and sunk by the Kriegsmarine, I doubt that the vessels of a neutral but Axis-friendly nation would have been allowed to sail within Allied convoys. I think I have even read reports of Spanish ships seized by the RN due to the ambiguous stance of their owning companies

[gap]

Originally Posted by kapuhy

Edit 2: Some photos:

mmm... I am confident that at some point we will find some pictures confirming the presence of ships in company colours within convoys, but it seems to me that the first two photographs were digitally colorized (if so, I would be curious to see the B/W originals).

The last picture seem original though, but all the portrayed ships look to me as being plain grey, except for the vessels on the center left - probably an auxiliary vessel - which sports a dazzle pattern.

[gap]

@ kapuhy I have finally found the B/W originals of the "suspect" pictures you had posted before.



From Wikimedia Commons:

Description An Atlantic convoy underway as seen from a Royal Air Force Short Sunderland flying boat.
Date circa 1943
Source Dennis Richards and Hilary St. George Saunders: Royal Air Force 1939–1945. Volume II: The Fight Avails; London, HMSO, 1953. Photo [1]
Author Unknown author

It is hard to say from this picture as shadows might milead our eyes, but yes, several ships in the picture above seem to have black hulls and bright supestructures.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______________________________




from the Russia in Estonia Twitter profile:

The 31st of August 1941, 7 ships of the USSR allies in the war with Nazi Germany reached the port of Arkhangelsk. This convoy under the code name "Dervish" was the first to supply the USSR with military equipment and armaments according to the lendlease programme.

The central ship has black hull and a dark-painted funnel with three brighter bands. According to Wikipedia, Operation Dervish convoy was composed of the following merchant ships:

Lancastrian Prince, owned by Prince Line (Furnes, Withy & Co.)
New Westminster City, owned by Reardon Smith Line
Esneh, owned by Moss Hutchinson Line
Trehata, owned by Hain Steamship Co.
Llanstephan Castle, owned by Union Castle Line
Alchiba, owned by Van Nievelt, Goudriaan & Co.

Add to them RFA Aldersdale (Admiralty-owned fleet oiler). Discarding for obvious reasons the latter, a quick internet research tells me that neither of the above shipping copanies used a similar funnel pattern. The attribution might be wrong, or further research might be required, nonetheless the fact remains: that looks lika a war convoy, and at least one of the ships composing it is not painted grey

[Mister_M]

Originally Posted by gap

The last picture seem original though, but all the portrayed ships look to me as being plain grey, except for the vessels on the center left - probably an auxiliary vessel - which sports a dazzle pattern.

They are all grey with camo skin ("dazzle").

Originally Posted by gap

It is hard to say from this picture as shadows might milead our eyes, but yes, several ships in the picture above seem to have black hulls and bright supestructures.

Perhaps a slow convoy with old steam ships still burning coal (they have a stern of the old type), small ships of less value which are not worth to camouflage with grey paint...

https://www.history.navy.mil/content...1772365144.jpg (from here : https://www.history.navy.mil/researc...ip-shapes.html)

[gap]

Originally Posted by Mister_M

They are all grey with camo skin ("dazzle").

It is my impression that dazzle camoufflages were only used on naval and auxiliary vessels, or at least I have never seen a merchant ship in complex camo scheme. To me, only the ship on the right has a dazzle pattern painted on her hull and I suspect her to be an auxiliary, but again my eyes are not very sharp

Originally Posted by Mister_M

Perhaps a slow convoy with old steam ships still burning coal (they have a stern of the old type), small ships of less value which are not worth to camouflage with grey paint...

https://www.history.navy.mil/content...1772365144.jpg (from here : https://www.history.navy.mil/researc...ip-shapes.html)

Yes, from their look those are definitely not "modern" freighters. As for them not being worth a dozen cans of grey paint, well, according to one of the posters in the forum thread I linked at post #1, a decent grey coat could be obtained by mixing black and white paint, which for sure wasn't in short supply at that time

[kapuhy]

Originally Posted by Mister_M

Perhaps a slow convoy with old steam ships still burning coal (they have a stern of the old type), small ships of less value which are not worth to camouflage with grey paint...

I doubt cost of paint would be a consideration compared to any ship's value, (especially since paint needed was probably already on board - as noted in gap's link, all they needed is to mix black and white paint they probably had stored since these were most common colours during peace) but with ships operating in low risk areas their captains could indeed decide the risk is too small to warrant the time and effort needed to repaint them.

Edit: ninja'd

Some other findings:

- German supply ship Roda sinking after being torpedoed in 1940. Interesting example of keeping black/white painting and funnel colours even after being taken into navy service:

https://shipwrecks.com/wp-content/up...da_sinking.jpg

As for rules for peace-painted ships and coal burners in convoys, there were obviously exceptions, as shown by photo here (atlantic convoy in 1941, phot taken by Robert Capa):

[Mister_M]

Originally Posted by gap

... black and white paint, which for sure wasn't in short supply at that time

This is just your opinion.

Originally Posted by kapuhy

I doubt cost of paint would be a consideration compared to any ship's value, (especially since paint needed was probably already on board - as noted in gap's link, all they needed is to mix black and white paint they probably had stored since these were most common colours during peace) but with ships operating in low risk areas their captains could indeed decide the risk is too small to warrant the time and effort needed to repaint them.

In real life, I don't know how much time it was needed to repaint a whole ship. Maybe lack of time ? Lack of crew ? Lack of equipment (in wartime, all is restrained) ? Lack of... money (and you will have to repaint again the ship after the war) ?... Or even other things that we just cannot have an idea or we just cannot imagine...

Originally Posted by kapuhy

As for rules for peace-painted ships and coal burners in convoys, there were obviously exceptions, as shown by photo here (atlantic convoy in 1941, phot taken by Robert Capa):

One photo cannot say anything about the whole story.

Maybe coal burners were not repainted grey because it was totally useless to try to camouflage a ship which produces so much black smoke !...

[gap]

Originally Posted by Mister_M

This is just your opinion.

Not exactly my own opinion:

Its common sense and natural to use camouflage John.
All ships use more black and white paint than any other colour so a mixture of these would soon produce grey in an emergency.
I was at sea from 1936 to 1956.

https://www.shipsnostalgia.com/threa...1/#post-356479

Originally Posted by Mister_M

In real life, I don't know how much time it was needed to repaint a whole ship. Maybe lack of time ? Lack of crew ? Lack of equipment (in wartime, all is restrained) ? Lack of... money (and you will have to repaint again the ship after the war) ?... Or even other things that we just cannot have an idea or we just cannot imagine...

I don't think the factors you are mentioning could affect big shipping companies, but indeed they might have played a role for small shipowners

One photo cannot say anything about the whole story.

Originally Posted by Mister_M

Maybe coal burners were not repainted grey because it was totally useless to try to camouflage a ship which produces so much black smoke !...

Maybe, but again:

I was a seaman all through the war and sailed in many convoys.Convoy Commodores were very strict and would reprimand any masters of ships who had bright colours visible,as occasionally some ships had red lead showing.
Emitting smoke from funnels was also taboo.

https://www.shipsnostalgia.com/threa...1/#post-357900

As noted by kapuhy, brightly painted ships and old coal-burning tramps sailing within convoys might have been not too an uncommon exception to the above rules, but I would expect them to become rarer and rarer as the war progresses.

By the way of that amazing picture by Robert Capa I think I have found the full set of photographs:

https://www.lasegundaguerra.com/viewtopic.php?t=13661
https://izismile.com/2017/06/01/a_tr...1_32_pics.html

Capa documented at least two Atlantic convoys. Apparently this set is from his first crossing, which took place in December 1941.

Please note this other freighter with dark hull, bluff superstructure and white/blue funnel from the same convoy...



...and the bad paintwork on these tankers





@ kapuhy good finding!

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by gap

If you have any other information on the subject, be it in form of pictures, documents, first-hand reports or simple impressions, you are welcomed to share them here

https://maritime.org/doc/camo/index.htm

Revised
June, 1942


This publication is CONFIDENTIAL and shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of Article 76, U.S. Navy Regulations. It shall be given a wide circulation among commissioned personnel.

The publication shall be destroyed by burning when no longer required. No report of destruction need be submitted.

<TRANSPORT AP 21 Class
Measure 16 - Thayer System PLATE XI

< PLATE XII - Cargo Ship AK 25 Class - Thayer System 24

INTRODUCTION
Definition of Ship Camouflage
Ship Camouflage may be defined as the means by which the visibility of a ship is reduced, or the means by which deception is caused in course or range estimation, or in class identification.
The most common method of attaining these ends is through some form of special painting, and this book is limited to camouflage by that means.
This is the Second Revision of SHIPS-2, and it supplants all previous issues in their entirety. Further revision should be expected and encouraged in a subject in which practice is far from becoming crystallized, and this book is therefore issued in loose leaf form. It is requested that pertinent comments be submitted and that instances of notably effective and ineffective camouflage be reported. Special forms for making camouflage reports have been printed and are issued with this book.
The Selection of a Suitable System
Ship camouflage measures have two general purposes:
(a) The Reduction of Visibility - Protective Coloration
(b) Course or Range Deception - Generally Pattern Systems
The systems included in this book belong in the first category. though Measure 16 contains some elements of deception.
No one type of camouflage can possibly give any protection under all situations. The method of ship painting must be adapted to the tactical situation which is involved, and a radical change in the tactics of either offense or defense should entail a re-examination of the suitability of the type of camouflage already in use. A method of ship painting which is intended to give protection during a period of greatest danger may at other times be of very high visibility.
Measures for reducing visibility have best chance of success at night, in gray weather or on hazy days when visibility is limited. Very light colored ships are best at night except in the glare of searchlight. Light colored ships are best against periscopic observation and dark ships are best against air observation. When light ships are clearly visible it is easy to judge target angle and make identification. Dark ships are much better in this respect.
The systems presented are to be placed in effect when ordered by competent authority. A summary of conditions under which the various methods will prove most effective is given on page 4, and a fuller explanation will be found under each camouflage measure.
APPROXIMATE EFFECTIVENESS OF CAMOUFLAGE MEASURES
FOR SURFACE SHIPS
Useful for Protection against Submarine attack, where aerial observation is a lesser factor.
(A) In northerly waters with much overcast weather and where attacks are prevalent at night.
Measure 16-Thayer System
Measure 13-Haze Gray System
(B) In Atlantic or Pacific Coastal waters where weather is generally sunny, visibility is high, and bright moonlight is common at night.
Measure 14-Ocean Gray System
Useful where greatest danger is from the air and high surface visibility must be accepted.
Measure 21-Navy Blue System

Useful for combatant ships operating in areas where greatest danger might be expected from gunnery action either from shore batteries or from enemy surface ships. Moderately high visibility to aerial observation at close ranges.
Measure 22-Graded System

MEASURE 16 - THAYER SYSTEM

Effectiveness

Lowest visibility to surface observers on moonless nights and in overcast weather.

High visibility down-sun or down-moon in bright clear weather, but reduced visibility up-sun and up-moon in all weathers.

Especially well adapted for winter use in Northern areas where nights are long and days frequently overcast. It would prove useful against submarines in any area where attacks occur mostly at night, but in bright weather it would be very visible to surface raiders, or to high-flying aircraft, when observed down-sun.

Some deception as to target angle has been reported for both day and night operations.

Special Characteristics

The special feature of this system is its changeable character. At low levels of illumination a blue paint will appear relatively lighter and a red paint will appear relatively darker than these two paints appear in daylight. This visual change, known as the Purkinje effect, is utilized in the Thayer System. The pure light blue which is employed has been selected because it will appear practically like white paint at low levels of illumination. The ship will therefore appear like a white ship on moonless nights or during twilight when white or very light ships are best for reduced visibility. During daylight hours or under bright moonlight the pattern will be apparent and will produce some deception in the estimation of the target angle. A darker blue would produce more deception but can not be used because it will not appear white at night. The purity of the color is an important factor in the Purkinje effect, and even a slight admixture of black in the paint will reduce its effectiveness at night.

Colors Employed: Thayer Blue and White

Type Plans

Typical deception patterns of the Thayer System are shown on PLATES IV to XII inclusive. Patterns are shown for both port and starboard sides, and should be so used in order to get the best end-on effects. Though shown for certain specific classes of ships, the designs can and should be adapted to other types and classes

Basically, Liberty Ships were painted in Measure 14, overall 5-O Ocean Gray...in FS #, that equates to 35164.
Some ships under navy control were painted in Ms 21 and 3x camo schemes, but the vast majority, including the O'Brien, were Ms 14. Here's the official instructions:
Vertical Surfaces:
Vertical surfaces from boot-topping to top of superstructure masses, Ocean Gray 5-O.
Pole masts, yards, slender upper works above level of top superstructure masses, Haze Gray, 5-H.
Horizontal Surfaces:
Horizontal surfaces, Deck Blue, 20-B.
Wood Decks.
Wood decks except on submarines and carriers shall be darkened to the color Deck Blue. Deck Blue paint shall be used in lieu of stain for this purpose.
Canvas Covers.
Canvas covers visible from the outside vessel are to be dyed a color corresponding to Deck Blue.
Notes:
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 bright or shiny objects, no matter how insignificant, shall be painted, covered, or removed

<klik to enlargeOf course all the camo in the world didn't help the Jeremiah O'Brien recently... ATTN modders: The recent photo in the SF Chronicle is a a 'no bullshot of an actual burning Liberty ship. if ever! I cannot believe some adept modder can't adapt this to SH-V at least; to effect 'total immersion' realistic graphics of a burning WWII cargo ship!!?? Then of course there's the USS Allegan AK-225 in a less than dazzling camo worth noting!!?? Her camouflage is Measure 32 Design 1F.

[U-190]

Absolutely brilliant!

[Aktungbby]

Not really; but thanks! the subject came up in Atoka220's thread: https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/sho...44&postcount=1 And I responded accordingly as I'm often aboard the USS Jeremiah O'Brian parked next to the Gato class USS Pampanito in SF's Fisherman's Wharf. The photos of the warehouse fire that scorched the Normandy survivor are terribly authentic; no imho 'bout it. Seeing such in real time should be a modders dream as to authenticity!! https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/sho...78&postcount=8

[Mister_M]

Originally Posted by Aktungbby

"(B) In Atlantic or Pacific Coastal waters where weather is generally sunny, visibility is high, and bright moonlight is common at night.
Measure 14-Ocean Gray System"

That's very strange because with this light grey painted on the hull, ships will be very well noticeable at night when there is moonlight... At least, it's my opinion... Perhaps moonlight is not enough to spot light grey ships' hull from far distances... but this would be surprising to me.

Else, interesting discussion here : http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling...7/t/33023.aspx