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Why World War I Ships Were Painted With Wild Patterns and Colors
The odd science and fate of dazzle paint
Modern navy ships are a simple and uniform steel grey color. Nearly every military ship in the world is solid grey. The grey coloring of ships today speaks to uniformity and cold efficiency. But that was not always the case. In the period leading up to World War I, navy ships were painted with a variety of different colors and patterns. This was known as “dazzle,” and it was extremely common during World War I.
Instead of being grey or white, naval vessels at the turn of the century were painted with bold stripes, vibrant blues, and geometric lines. The idea behind dazzle paint was to confuse spotters. Before the invention of radar and reliable spotting planes, ships had to be visually seen through binoculars and identified. World War I naval warfare depended on torpedoes and accurate cannon fire from the big guns on large ships. Each of these things requires a good identification of the enemy ship to be effective.
A spotter would see an enemy ship and then relay the information down the chain. Then, dedicated sailors would break out their…
