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

Battleships

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for BB-45

Design 3D

for BB-45

Design Number Silhouette Ships Wearing Design
for BB-45
Measure 31
Colorado (BB-45)
Drawing

The Design drawing for camouflage carried by USS Colorado (BB-45) has not yet been found, but probably was drawn in 1943, since Colorado was photographed in this camouflage in October 1943 in Pearl Harbor. Fleet Maintence Office (FMO) of Pacific Fleet Service Force sent Pearl Harbor on October 8, 1943 a request to paint Colorado in Measure 31 using a drawing supplied by FMO, probably the above drawing. The vertical colors should have been Measure 31: dull black (BK), ocean gray (5-O) and haze gray (5-H). Colorado's camouflage is clearly a version of Design 3D but does not match closely other versions of 3D. There are no sources for a drawing of this camouflage, this drawing created from photographs.

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-000000.

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