Saturday, June 7, 2014

Centenary of World War 1 Camouflage

14-18-NOW website
Above Throughout the UK, Europe and elsewhere, starting this year and continuing through 2018, all sorts of things are being planned in connection with the World War 1 Centenary—exhibitions, events, publications and online information blogs. Shown here for example is the opening page for an extensive website on 14-18-NOW: WW1 Centenary Art Commissions (a convenient way to keep updated), maintained through the efforts of the Imperial War Museum and the Department for Culture, Media & Sport. The image above is one of a series of woodcuts by British Vorticist artist Edward Wadsworth who, as a dock officer during World War 1, supervised the painting of more than 2,000 dazzle-painted ships.  

Below is the colored camouflage plan for the starboard side of the HMS Highflyer.

Dazzle camouflage plan for HMS Highflyer
Another helpful current source is the BBC's multimedia guide to WW1, with an especially rich section on ship camouflage, including the diagram posted below.

Diagram of HMT Olympic camouflage