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During the WWI Centennial an exhibition on razzle dazzle camouflage was created by the National Museum of the United States Navy and the Great Lakes Naval Museum to commemorate the navy's effort during the conflict. Here are some of the graphics used for the program.
The Theory
A Large Variety of Schemes
In Practice
A WWII Example
Fascinating! One of my favorite related quotes: One merchant ship captain who objected to the “vivid painting of his vessel” received the following response from a camouflage officer:
ReplyDelete"Dear Sir,-- The object of camouflage is not, as you suggest, to turn your ship into an imitation of a West African parrot, a rainbow in a naval pantomime, or a gay woman. The object of camouflage is rather to give the impression that your head is where your stern is." (more at https://behindtheirlines.blogspot.com/2017/10/camouflage.html )
Great fun for aficionados of Art Deco, but did dazzle painting really work? "... in 1931, when German evidence had been sifted, the verdict was that it was doubtful whether any submarine commander had misjudged his target's course and speed through dazzle-painting alone." But it was, even by the sceptics (and they were many), regarded as good for morale among sailors in general. (Quote from Hartcup, "Camouflage", 1979, citing Gibson & Prendergast 1931.)
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