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Albert Gleaves, A History of the Transport Service. New York: George H. Doran, 1921, pp. 82-83—
[During World War I] Wide use was made of camouflage painting of hulls and exterior fittings of all types of ships, to confuse the enemy in estimating the course, speed and size of his quarry.
For a long time, it was generally thought that camouflage acted like the invisible cloak of the knight in the fairy tale, which of course it didn’t.
There were various styles of camouflage just as there were different kinds of zigzag [steering]. Some camouflaging was so effective that the course of the ship was disguised as much as 90 degrees. Once an officer of the deck reported that a ship had been sighted heading directly across his bow, when as a matter of fact she was going in the same direction.
Any one living in New York City during the war had opportunity to see from Riverside Drive the various designs of camouflage. Some of these were fantastic, but the majority were known as the “dazzle system,” which sufficiently indicates the style.
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