RISD Camouflage | SS Matilda Weems

In October 2013, we posted two views of a World War I dazzle-camouflaged Matilda Weems, as photographed on 23 August 1918. Recently, we were delighted to learn from Claudia Covert, scholar and librarian at the Rhode Island School of Design, that the library at RISD has (in its extensive camouflage collection) prints of the original dazzle-painting scheme that was applied to that ship. Above is a photograph of the starboard side of the painted ship, with the starboard plan below it. Similarly, below on this page is the photograph of the port side, and the matching port side plan. It's interesting to notice the differences (especially on the port side) between the diagram and the painted ship. What a wonderful discovery. Ship diagrams are reproduced by courtesy of Special Collections, Fleet Library at RISD, Providence RI.