Ship camouflage Ship camouflage is a form of military deception in which a ship is painted in one or more colors in order to obscure or confuse an enemy ' s visual observation . Several types of marine camouflage have been used or prototyped : blending or crypsis , in which a paint scheme attempts to hide a ship from view ; deception , in which a ship is made to look smaller or , as with the Q - ship s , like merchantmen ; and dazzle , a chaotic paint scheme which tries to confuse any estimate of distance , direction , or heading . Counterillumination to hide a darkened ship against the slightly brighter night sky was trialled in diffused lighting camouflage . Classical times . Ship camouflage was occasionally used in ancient times . The 3rd century book " Imagenes " notes that Mediterranean pirate ships may be painted blue - gray for concealment . Vegetius writing in the 4th century says that " Venetian blue " ( bluish - green , the same color as the sea ) was used in the years 56 – 54 BC during the Gallic Wars , when Julius Caesar sent his " speculatoria navigia " ( scout ships ) to gather intelligence along the coast of Britain . The ships were painted entirely in bluish - green wax , with sails and ropes the same color . The sailors and marines were also dressed in " Venetian blue " . Early modern camouflage . In the Age of Sail , deception was often used by ships , and paint was applied " ad hoc " by ships ' captains for temporary tactical advantage . A ship might be painted to look like another , it might have its cannon ports hidden by painted canvas to look harmless , or it might have additional cannon ports painted on to appear more powerful . As one example among many , for one of his battles during 1778 – 1782 , American privateer Jonathan Haraden hid the guns of his ship the " General Pickering " , to appear as if it were a slow merchant ship . Haraden allowed his ship to be approached at close range by a much faster British privateer , then he quickly pulled the painted canvas away and delivered a full broadside , capturing the enemy . In the American Civil War , camouflage paint was applied by both sides during the Union blockade of 1861 – 1865 . Blockade runners aiding the Confederates sometimes painted their ships all in mist - gray , to hide themselves in coastal fog . One Union blockade crew may have painted their rowboat white , and its oars , and wore white clothing for a night reconnaissance patrol up an enemy - held river . In the 1890s , German and French fighting ships were being painted gray . American interest in ship camouflage was given official funding in 1898 during the Spanish – American War when white , light gray , and medium gray paint schemes were evaluated for their ability to hide a ship as seen against the distant sky on the horizon . Artist Abbott Handerson Thayer investigated countershading color schemes to " paint out " natural shadows . First World War . British ships began being painted gray in 1903 ; but lighter shades were preferred to minimize solar heating in warmer climates . In World War I , the increasing range of naval guns , and the great fear of high - speed , long - range torpedoes used against warships and merchant ships caused a significant increase in the use of ship camouflage . British Admiralty . Patterned ship camouflage was pioneered in Britain . Early in the war , zoologist John Graham Kerr advised Winston Churchill to use disruptive camouflage to break up ships ' outlines , and countershading to make them appear less solid , following Abbott Handerson Thayer ' s beliefs . Kerr was not an effective political campaigner , and his ideas were abandoned on Churchill ' s departure from the Admiralty , while his postwar legal action failed . His successor , marine artist Norman Wilkinson , successfully promoted the idea that Kerr ' s camouflage sought invisibility rather than image disruption . Under Wilkinson , the Admiralty researched and issued a large number of " razzle - dazzle " designs , which became known simply as " dazzle " , to counter the threat from submarines . Models were made and painted , often by women artists , and tested in a laboratory by viewing through a periscope . After trials , in October 1917 the Admiralty ordered all its merchant ships to be painted in dazzle patterns . The purpose of dazzle camouflage was not however motion dazzle but visual deception , as Wilkinson later explained : United States Navy . In 1913 , American camouflage experiments included a submarine painted in a three - color pattern of broad vertical stripes designed by William Mackay , using white stripes to separate green and blue stripes . Wilkinson visited the United States to advise the U . S . Navy on ship camouflage . Dazzle schemes were used on merchant ships and smaller warships . Battlefleets continued to be painted in various shades of gray . Second World War . Some two - color paint schemes attempted to harmonize with both sea and sky near the horizon . The US Navy painted some ships dark gray with white structures above bridge level . Both the US Navy and the Royal Navy painted ships dark gray on the hull and light gray on the superstructure and turrets . USN measure 12 was a graded System with sea blue low on the hull below the first continuous deck , with ocean gray above that . The top of the masts were painted haze gray . This measure was modified with ocean gray above navy blue low on the hull below the first continuous deck ( painted parallel to the waterline rather than the main deck ) . This bold contrast on a horizontal line near the horizon reduced visibility to surface observers and created the illusion of greater range . This camouflage was considered most effective for gunnery engagements with surface units or shore batteries in areas where aerial observation was unlikely . It was used in the Atlantic and European coastal waters from the end of 1942 through the end of World War II . It was worn by shore bombardment ships in the Pacific from late 1944 after the destruction of Japanese naval aviation capability at the Battle of the Philippine Sea . Similar Admiralty standard schemes were applied beginning in 1944 when it was assumed enemy forces would have radar . Ships were painted light gray overall , except for a sea blue patch low on the hull , either between the main gun turrets or the entire length of the hull . United States . In 1935 , the United States Navy Naval Research Laboratory began studies and tests on low visibility camouflage for ships . Some measures were deceptive , like a false painted bow wave to give the impression of high speed at all times . Measures making cruiser s resemble destroyer s were discontinued after causing station - keeping confusion among ships operating in formation . Color schemes included light gray , haze gray , ocean gray , and black . Haze gray was found to provide reasonable protection in the widest range of conditions , and became a standard US Navy paint scheme after World War II . Ocean gray also became a standard paint scheme after the war . Although black is still used for submarines , it was discontinued on destroyers after determining black ships remained more noticeable than gray ships on even the darkest nights . The US Navy painted some ships sea blue overall for concealment from aircraft . During the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway , ships painted completely blue came under attack less often than ships wearing two - colors . On the advice of United States aviators the blue color was darkened and used extensively in the western and southern Pacific from mid - 1942 through 1945 to minimize detection and identification by enemy aircraft . Dark blue also proved effective under artificial illumination during night actions . Upper surfaces of aircraft operating from carrier decks were painted a similar shade of blue . Sailors were ordered to wear dungarees rather than white uniforms when topside . The Thayer system was white with large polygonal patches of light sea blue ( called Thayer Blue . ) This measure was most useful in Arctic latitudes with extended twilight and frequent fog and cloud cover . Purity of color was important for full realization of the Purkinje effect where some colors appear lighter and some appear darker at low levels of illumination . Darkening the pattern increased course deception , but increased visibility at night and in haze . Measure 32 was a medium pattern of obtrusive polygons in navy blue or black , against background polygons of lighter grays and greens . This measure emphasized mistaken identity and course deception to complicate submarine attack . Patterns were carried across the bow , and light gray was used aft to blend with the wake . This measure was based on the World War I dazzle system modified by observations in the western Pacific ; and was applied to most surface ships in the Pacific during 1944 and 1945 . Different patterns were devised for classes with large numbers of ships so the pattern would not identify the class of ship . United Kingdom . Between the world wars , Royal Navy ships were painted dark gray in the Home Fleet , light gray in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas , and white in the Indian Ocean and western Pacific . Many Home Fleet ships were painted medium gray during 1939 and 1940 to decrease visibility from the peacetime dark gray . In the first year of the war British captains largely painted their ships as they saw fit . is believed to have been the first ship to adopt a disruptive camouflage paint scheme in December 1939 , and several G - class destroyer s of her flotilla used a similar scheme of contrasting stone colored polygons . When concern arose about German aerial reconnaissance of Scapa Flow , some Home Fleet ships were painted with disruptive Flotta schemes of dark brown , light gray , and light green polygons from April to August 1940 for concealment and identity confusion in port . Most Home Fleet ships had been repainted medium gray by December 1940 . The Royal Navy painted Mediterranean submarines dark blue in 1940 to reduce submerged visibility to aircraft . Captain Louis Mountbatten ' s 5th Flotilla of K class destroyers were painted Mountbatten pink in 1940 . Mountbatten observed a Union - Castle Line r disappear from convoy during an autumn sunset because of the company ' s unusual lavender - mauve - gray hull color . Mountbatten reasoned the color would be effective camouflage during dawn and dusk periods , and devised a similar shade by mixing medium gray with a small amount of venetian red . Its effectiveness was much disputed ; but it was applied to other destroyers , a few cruisers , and numerous small warships which maintained the scheme through 1944 for use in coastal waters . No Admiralty camouflage section was established until October 1940 . Admiralty camouflage schemes promulgated in 1941 were not universally adopted because of difficulties with operating schedules and shortages of some paint pigments . Nearly all destroyers and larger ships wore an Admiralty disruptive camouflage scheme by late 1942 ; but Commonwealth captains executed official camouflage schemes with greater variation than was customary with American measures . Initial Admiralty disruptive camouflage schemes employed polygons of varying shades of gray , blue and green so at least two of the colors would blend with background sea or sky under different light conditions . Schemes devised for capital ships emphasized identity confusion rather than concealment . became the first ship to receive an official camouflage scheme in January 1941 . As more ships received similar schemes through 1941 it became evident the polygons were too small to be differentiated at effective camouflage ranges . Simplified Admiralty light and dark disruptive schemes were promulgated in 1942 to use larger and simpler polygons with no more than four colors . Light disruptive schemes were intended for use in the higher latitudes where skies were often overcast . Dark disruptive schemes used darker colors providing more effective disruption where bright sunlight could be expected . Boundaries were sometime mottled between the various color patches . ( " e . g . " HMS " Belfast " as preserved in London ) The Admiralty Western Approaches scheme evolved from a camouflage scheme applied to in June 1940 at the suggestion of naturalist Peter Scott , who was serving aboard that ship . " Broke " was painted white with large polygonal patches of light gray , light sea blue and light sea green . " Broke " achieved some notoriety in a collision where the captain of the other ship claimed to have been unable to see " Broke " . Escort captains observing " Broke " experimented with similar schemes including polygons of dark gray or dark blue for increased disruptive contrast , while others tried painting their ships entirely white to emphasize concealment . The Admiralty omitted light gray from Peter Scott ' s scheme . White with large polygonal patches of light sea blue and light sea green was adopted in mid - 1941 for use exclusively on destroyers and smaller ships engaged in anti - submarine operations . This was a very effective scheme under typical North Atlantic weather conditions of fog and overcast . Captain class frigate s were delivered painted white with a pattern of sea blue and light grey in an American Western Approaches variant . These were colors used in American camouflage measures ; but the pattern was unique to ships produced for the Royal Navy and was replaced by Admiralty schemes and colors during refit . The Home Fleet destroyer scheme was similar to the Western Approaches scheme but used darker shades of blue and gray on the rear third of the ship , to assist in station - keeping . British decks were usually dark gray . The Admiralty ' s informal approach changed when a branch of the Naval Research Laboratory was established at Leamington Spa under Commander James Yunge - Bateman to test ship camouflage schemes experimentally . Painted models were floated in a large tank and examined against different backgrounds , using theatre lamps to simulate varying lighting conditions . An experimental coating able to change colour was tested on Royal Navy submarines . On suggestion by Professor Leslie Cromby , lead oxide was applied to the hull , enabling it to become black on application of a solution of sulphite and sea water for night operation . For day sailing , a solution of hydrogen peroxide and sea water would be applied , producing sulphate and returning the hull to a white colour desirable for diurnal conditions . Other navies . German Kriegsmarine ships before the Second World War were either light gray overall or had dark gray hulls . Many retained this scheme during the war . Others had dazzle camouflage , usually in combinations of pale gray , dark gray and sea blue . Smaller ships operating in the North Sea or Baltic Sea were painted white or a very pale gray to blend in with daytime mist and nighttime phosphorescent organisms . Larger ships often had false bows and sterns painted in a different shade from the rest of the hull to create the impression of the ship being at greater range from the observer . German decks were a very dark gray . Italian ships of Mussolini ' s navy retained its pre - war scheme of light gray overall for its smaller ships , but the larger units mostly had dazzle camouflage of dark gray , light sea blue , light sea green and light gray . Italian foredecks had a high - visibility pattern of red and white diagonal stripes so that their own aircraft would not attack them . Japanese ships largely retained their pre - war dark gray paint scheme , although some major units like aircraft carrier s changed to a dark sea green . Some aircraft carriers had their flight decks painted in a dazzle camouflage , but this seems to have been ineffective . Soviet ships were dark gray overall , sometimes with medium gray upperworks . The Royal Canadian Navy experimented with variable diffused lighting camouflage of one side of ships to match horizon light levels and minimize silhouettes during prolonged arctic twilight or aurora borealis . The French Navy used light gray before the war and under the Vichy regime . Free French ships that operated with the British adopted one of the British schemes . Those that were refitted in American shipyards were usually repainted in the American Measure 22 . After the Second World War . After the Second World War , the universal adoption of radar made traditional camouflage generally less effective , and led to development of stealth ship s , a form of radar camouflage . However , camouflage may have helped United States warships avoid hits from Vietnamese shore batteries which used optical rangefinders . USS " Freedom " ( LCS - 1 ) , a class of littoral combat ship , is said to be the first U . S . Navy ship to have camouflage reminiscent of that used in the World Wars .