Thursday, January 1, 2026

irregular streaks of black and white painted across it

Unidentified WWI American ship with dazzle camouflage
Edward Alva Trueblood, In the Flash Ranging Service: Observations of an American Soldier during His Service with the AEF in France. Sacramento CA: News Pub, 1919—

All the boats in our fleet were camouflaged. The King of Italy had great irregular streaks of black and white painted across it. One of the boats in our fleet had a really remarkable picture of a sinking ship painted on its side. Another had two ships painted on its side and was camouflaged to look like two vessels instead of one. While the camouflaged ships appeared strange at first, we soon were used to the unusual appearance, and thought nothing of them. A camouflaged vessel is visible to the naked eye, almost as plain as one that has not been daubed with paint, but it is through the mirrors of a periscope that the camouflage is effective. In reflecting the picture on the horizon, the mirrors lose some of the rays of light, so officers explained to me, hence the eyes of the periscope are unable to detect the camouflage.

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