On the contrary, records date back from the 3 rd century, in the book Imagenes, that details how Mediterranean pirate ships were painted blue-gray in order to conceal them.ĭazzle Camouflage worked by having complex geometric shapes in contrasting colors that interrupted or intersected each other. However, World War I wasn’t the first time ship camouflage was used. Other methods were also used or prototyped: “blending” or “crypsis” was a paint scheme that attempted to hide a ship from view “deception” made a ship appear smaller “counterillumination” was a method employed to hide a darkened ship against the slightly brighter night sky. The ship was painted not for low visibility, but to obscure its form so enemy vessels didn’t know which direction she was heading.ĭazzle Camouflage was also known as “razzle dazzle” or “dazzle painting” and was just one of the methods used for concealing vessels during World War I. In other words, it was the real life equivalent of the ship having its camouflage unit levelled to max. He came to the conclusion that because it was near impossible to hide something as large as a ship in the ocean, the question became about what a ship could do to make it a more difficult target to aim at through an enemy periscope. In the midst of these losses, Wilkinson had a flash of genius. Around this time, German U-boat torpedo attacks were doing a lot of damage to British forces, sinking close to eight ships per day. In 1917, he found himself on a minesweeping operation at HMNB Devonport. The term camoufleur was originally given to a person serving in a World War I French military camouflage unit.ĭuring World War I, Wilkinson was serving in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, assigned to submarine patrols in the Dardanelles, Gallipoli and Gibraltar. This type of concealment was dubbed “Dazzle Painting” or “Dazzle Camouflage”. Wilkinson was as a wartime camoufleur (French slang for “to disguise”), who designed and implemented military camouflage. Norman Wilkinson CBE, born in 1878, was a British artist predominantly known for his work with oils, watercolors, drypoint, and later, WW1 merchant vessels.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |