U.S. Navy Ships in WWII Dazzle Camouflage 1944-1945

Destroyers

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Mahan & Dunlap Classes

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for DD-364

Design 3D

for DD-364

Design Number Silhouette Ships Wearing Design
for DD-364
Measure 32
Downes (DD-375)
Drawing

This is the drawing for Measure 32 Design 3D for the Mahan class destroyers as dated August 9, 1944. Four vertical colors were specified: navy blue (5-N), ocean gray (5-O), haze gray (5-H) and light gray (5-L) and the horizontal colors were ocean gray (5-O) and deck blue (20-B). Note, that by the time this drawing was produced the 3D port bow black panel had been extended to a “ ramp.”

A Design 3D drawing was attached to the July 15, 1943, memo to PacFleet for the DD-380 Gridley class of destroyers. Design 3D was also drawn for every other class of destroyers and destroyer escorts and for most other classes of major warships including the Independence class light carriers, the Casablanca class escort carriers, Omaha class light cruisers and Cleveland class light cruisers. The battleship USS Colorado (BB-45) also used Design 3D beginning in October 1943. A handful of ships of the Livermore class of destroyers and some destroyer escorts used a mirrored version in which the port pattern appeared on the starboard and the starboard pattern was painted on the port side. I have identified this as 3D rev (reversed) even though there seem to be no USN drawings that would depict this.

Original drawing source: NARA 80-G-176509 and 80-G-176510.

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