Ship camouflage

[t68]

I was looking at the types of ship camouflage or known as dazzle camouflage on how it was used in the past. The main objective was not to make the ship invisible but to create illusions or mislead those trying to either identify the ship or its heading or speed. A number of different techniques were used, very elaborate designs to the subtle.

File:USS West Mahomet (ID-3681) cropped.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
File:HMS Argus (1917).jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
File:HMAS Yarra (AWM 016263).jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
File:USS Northampton (CA-26).jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As well as using deceptive paint schemes on the sides of ships, aircraft carriers used an overall blended colour cover used to conceal aircraft on the decks or make the carrier blend in with the ocean from observation aircraft and sailors wore their dungarees.

In more modern times with improved optics and radar coverage and ships now making use of shapes to reduce their RCS, would some type of painted camouflage still have use in a modern environment, the Visby class corvette make use of both LO and painted techniques.

File:K32 HMS Helsingborg Anchored-of-Gotska-Sandoen cropped.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Samoa]

In more modern times with improved optics and radar coverage and ships now making use of shapes to reduce their RCS, would some type of painted camouflage still have use in a modern environment, the Visby class corvette make use of both LO and painted techniques.

For large surface combatants and the like there is little advantage of camo packages, as the vessel is easily detected by long range search radar and other sensors even before it is on the visual horizon. Modern weapons do not rely on a viusal aid for targetting and hence the camo package adds little value. Camo packages are still useful for small attack boats or in near shore/ littorial environments where a vessel may hide amongst the background environment. Near shore / littorial environment makes it harder for conventional radar based targetting systems due to elevated target clutter, and given the vessel is "small" it will tend to have a lower RCS anyway. In other words it's radar signature hides in the environment, so if you can hide it optically as well, then the advantage is tangiable. ie it can help in specific circumstances.

With respect to RCS, the RCS of a large surface vessel will always be signficant, due to the physical size of the vessel itself (assuming it is made of metal !). The RCS design on such ships aims to control RCS as well as minimize it, by controlling what is called the "glint angle" at low elevation angles to make it harder for missile seekers to get a solid lock. ie at elevation angles less than 2 degs or so, when a skimmer is coming at the ship, the RCS is minimised to present the lowest target size and hopefully make it harder for the missile seeker. RCS designs on modern ships not only minimise the signature (by eliminating corner reflectors) but also control the RCS signature with respect to the azimuth angle. ie. if a ship has a reduced level of self protection in the aft quarters the RCS can be improved in the same area to reduce the chances of being hit in the same area. Also if the forward port quarter is well covered by the ship's defences then the RCS design can be relaxed in this area.

Hope all that makes some sense.....

 

[aussienscale]

There is plenty out there to research on the subject, but this is only half of the story.

Don't forget night time Deceptive Rigging or Lighting as it is more commonly known is the practice of altering your ships navagational lights to alter the appearance of the ship or ships

Cheers

 

[AegisFC]

There is plenty out there to research on the subject, but this is only half of the story.

Don't forget night time Deceptive Rigging or Lighting as it is more commonly known is the practice of altering your ships navagational lights to alter the appearance of the ship or ships

Cheers

Deceptive rigging is still fairly common, at least in naval exercises. It ranges from repositioned mast lights to whatever the CO wants to attempt.

I work with an old sonar-tech who used to be on a Spru-can near the end of his career. He likes to tell this story about during one exercise they were playing the baddie in the Caribbean they did their best to look like a civvy party boat. They had a cook with a real thick Jamaican accent handling all the radio traffic, they blared dance music out of the external intercoms and rigged up spot lights.

 

[STURM]

Some navies also paint part of the hull in black to make it harder for others to visually ID vessels at long distances.

Several littoral navies like Sweden [and if I'm not mistaken Finland also] used to apply camo schemes on their vessels which of course does not affect radar but can be confusing when the vessel in question is spotted visually at a distance and is hugging a coastline. Not sure if the Soviets ever applied camo schemes to their Shershen, Osa and Komar FACs.

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

I was looking at the types of ship camouflage or known as dazzle camouflage on how it was used in the past. The main objective was not to make the ship invisible but to create illusions or mislead those trying to either identify the ship or its heading or speed. A number of different techniques were used, very elaborate designs to the subtle.


File:USS Northampton (CA-26).jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Very interesting thread, thanks for starting this!
I only dont understand the camouflage of CA-26, the bow wave camouflage is on the right side, the front/bow. Whats the purpose of this?

 

[mankyle]

Very interesting thread, thanks for starting this!
I only dont understand the camouflage of CA-26, the bow wave camouflage is on the right side, the front/bow. Whats the purpose of this?

Probably it would try to deceive speed calculations based on the size of the bow wave

 

[PO2GRV]

on the topic of ship camouflage I feel it bears mentioning the US Navy's god awful NWU's and their complete lack of camouflage in, well, just about any environment

my mother's ex-husband was aboard the USS COLE when she was hit by a waterborne suicide bomber. Thankfully he survived but the point is that after the attack happened the crew (including the NCPACE civilian instructor!) manned the weather decks with small arms and the .50 cals ready to repel boarders or follow-up attacks

while again thankfully subsequent attacks didnt happen, if they had the crew, then wearing the standard blue coverall uniform, would have stood out against the haze grey of the ships hull. While that uniform wasn't designed for or intended to offer any kind of camouflage, the NWU is (or atleast looks as if it should, and if it isnt, then whats the point of the GI Joe coloring?)

I feel in today's irregular threat enviroment, where some attacks by the enemy can render the old notions of "front line" irrelevant, that the NWU should be grey instead of blue and that a six to seven foot band of camouflage or dazzle-paint should be added from the deck up to match the uniform so that combat watchstanders on the weatherdecks can have more protection

 

[AegisFC]

Very interesting thread, thanks for starting this!
I only dont understand the camouflage of CA-26, the bow wave camouflage is on the right side, the front/bow. Whats the purpose of this?

From a distance it would confuse anyone trying to determine the ships speed based on the visible bow wave.

 

[StoresBasher]

There is plenty out there to research on the subject, but this is only half of the story.

Don't forget night time Deceptive Rigging or Lighting as it is more commonly known is the practice of altering your ships navagational lights to alter the appearance of the ship or ships

Cheers

When I was on Success in the late 1990's, many times we used deceptive lighting when we were transiting through pirated seas.