Review by Chris Langtree

Naval Camouflage 1914-1945 is a large format hardback of 247 pages with the dustcover showing a colour photo of Gloire in her zebra scheme on the front. This photo is reproduced in the excellent colour section inside the book. Conceptually this is a different approach to the Alan Raven series. Whilst Raven focuses on British naval camouflage and attempts to illustrate and identify as many camouflage schemes for individual ships as possible, Williams adopts a broader approach and concentrates on the development and camouflage patterns themselves. That being said the book is lavishly illustrated - a lot of the photos will be familiar but all are interesting and are well chosen, the aim being to illustrate the book's themes. One note there are two unidentified ships shown: the C class cruiser on Page 106 is Carlisle herself and the funnel shown on Page 247 is Renown's fore funnel. The colour section is excellent and I particularly enjoyed the photo of Olympic in dazzle.

Turning now to the text, this starts with an introduction to Naval Camouflage and is an informative and interesting account of the development of Naval Camouflage from 1914 to 1945 focusing on the US and UK. Whilst significant amounts of material for these countries have been lost, more still survives than for the other combatants. Next is a history of camouflage in WW1 and this is really fascinating. Both British and American developments being discussed in some detail with the American experiments at the Kodak company being particularly well covered. What emerges from this discussion is the more advanced nature of the American research when compared to the British. Following an introduction each type of camouflage scheme is treated separately and where possible there are photos or drawings of the scheme. If, for example, a scheme was quite extensive such as the Admiralty dazzle scheme there are several photos showing the different schemes that were applied.

After this start the book moves onto the Second World War and here there is a weakness. Very little information survives on the early schemes used by the Royal Navy between the wars and early in WW2 but Williams only mentions Grenade and Grenville being camouflaged after the war started. There is evidence that some limited research was carried out by the Admiralty between 1919 and 1937 which resulted in certain conclusions being reached about which schemes to use on different stations. Very soon after the war started several camouflage experiments were conducted and it is likely that the first warship to wear camouflage was in fact Ivanhoe.

Each camouflage variant is covered in some detail but the sections for Mountbatten Pink and the Special Home Fleet Destroyer Scheme are incomplete. The Mountbatten Pink section does not include cruisers in its list of types of ships to receive it though CAFOs do list several. However, it is likely that the only ship of the 5th Flotilla to receive Mountbatten Pink (if at all) was the Kelly. Despite the letter from Mountbatten included in the text there is anecdotal evidence that none of his captains would have followed that particular idea. The story that the rest of the 5th was decked out in Mountbatten Pink seems to have originated with Mountbatten himself and is probably due to faulty memory. For the Special Home Fleet Destroyer Scheme there were more than one variant and the interested researcher should consult Alan Raven's Royal Navy Camouflage Volume 2 which has a good selection of the variants. These included using G45 in place of white. Quibbles aside the author handles his material with a confidence and sureness that is most impressive. There is very little on the Mediterranean though and it seems that MFO 433/34 which gives instructions for the Mediterranean Fleet has been missed. Even so he produces a most illuminating account of Royal Navy camouflage and the reasons why schemes were adopted and discarded.

Moving onto the USN, he seems if anything better. Each measure is described individually with clearly illustrative photos. Where appropriate separate sections are included, for example between the descriptions of Measures 14 and 15 there is a useful discussion of Disruption and Dazzle Designs. Like the Admiralty schemes the author lists the designs employed for each ship particularly for Measures 31 to 33 but also notes the variations and inconsistencies in their application. He even includes information on Measures 15 and 17 whilst noting the difficulties with these two schemes. Measure 12 modified is particularly well handled with an extensive section of different schemes illustrated.

After the USN, Williams moves onto Allied, German, Japanese and Italian camouflage. Once again his touch is sure but he does not present as much material. This is probably because it no longer survives and Williams has probably managed to extract what is available and verifiable. There are significant gaps in the record for Royal Navy camouflage so it is hardly surprising that there is even less for the Axis fleets. Once again photos are good, including several I was unfamiliar with but I particularly liked the extreme dazzle Sperrbrechers he reproduces with sequences showing both sides. The final section comprises several essays that are once again informative and detailed. A bonus in 3c is the list of WW2 Admiralty paints with Humbrol equivalents. As he has relied on a Humbrol shade card there are one or two questionable decisions here and the Dimi Apostopoulis list is to my mind more accurate. This is pretty academic though as paint mixing was not a precise science. I also noticed that MS4A was listed as having a reflection factor of 45% whereas it was a lighter paint and should read 55%.

In October 1942 the earlier colours were all re-numbered and though Williams does explain the new numbering system he seems to have missed the significance of the re- numbering, G5 being originally MS1 and G10 being MS2 and of the blue colours B5 becoming B30 and so on. To confuse things further in a later renumbering G10 was equivalent to AP507A and here the identifier B denotes blue-grey and the identifier G, grey not grey-green. Furthermore 507C was not replaced but survived firstly as B45 and then as G45 and AFO2106/43 states that G45 was 507C and not a new shade as some commentators think. Even so there is much useful information here; for example I learnt that B20 was a combination of B15 and B30 - like 507B being a combination of 507A and 507C. Disappointingly there is no attempt to arrive at Humbrol equivalents for the USN colours though. A glance at the Bibliography shows a reassuring level of research and use of original sources, which ties in with the overall high quality of the work.

This book is not cheap, at 40 pounds ($65 US on Amazon.com) it is one of the more expensive books around but it is fully worth the cost. It is solidly researched and is probably the only full history of naval camouflage we are likely to see. Reassuringly the quality is excellent, Chatham has not skimped on production and the photos are excellently reproduced. Furthermore, the author has included many camouflaged liners and transports many of whose schemes are even more interesting than those of the warships. Submarines and coastal forces also receive some coverage. The author has covered a difficult subject and done so with authority and considerable knowledge. The layout is clear and informative and David Williams has the gift of making a dry subject interesting creating what is without doubt the definitive work on the subject. This is an excellent book and I would say that everyone with an interest in naval camouflage should have a copy on their shelves.