Above This is a wonderfully elegant postcard from World War I. It was presumably published near the war's end or shortly after, c1919. The dazzle-painted American ship is unidentified, but the caption states that it was built in Lorain OH, which is on Lake Erie. Public domain.
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CAMOUFLAGE: A Strange Device in The Bega Southern Star (Bega, New South Wales, AU), February 16, 1918, p. 4—
Many people visiting Sydney have no doubt noticed the peculiar manner in which some of the overseas vessels are painted, their appearance much resembling the results of the labors of a one-year-old baby to paint a summer sunset in 12 colors. The entire vessel resembles a kaleidoscope, as if a giant had thrown handfuls of various colored mud on the ship, and they had been darkened the sun, blotches of different color being painted all over the ship. The object of this strange method of painting is to deceive submarines, it being claimed that the ships adopting it are able to considerably lessen their chances of being observed by prowling U-boats. As one of the boats came up the Harbor recently, looking at it sideways on, it appeared like two rocks with a passage of water between them. The vessel has naturally created a good deal of controversy and interest, and has afforded many openings for cartoonists in a well-known Sydney satirical weekly, such as a cartoon showing a unionist and his sweetheart observing such a ship, and the girl inquiring the purpose of what she termed the “funny painting.” “Huh!” grunted the unionist, “that ship was painted by ‘scabs!’ They didn’t know how to mix the colors properly.”
RELATED LINKS
Dazzle Camouflage: What is it and how did it work?
Nature, Art, and Camouflage
Art, Women's Rights, and Camouflage
Embedded Figures, Art, and Camouflage
Art, Gestalt, and Camouflage
Optical science meets visual art
Disruption versus dazzle
Chicanery and conspicuousness
Under the big top at Sims' circus
