Royal Navy’s Portsmouth patrol ship given iconic wartime ‘dazzle camouflage’ makeover with 200 litres of paint

HMS Tamar is set to head to the Asia-Pacific region with a ‘dazzle camouflage’ paint scheme which was introduced by the Royal Navy towards the end of the First World War.

The design - various shades of black, white, and grey in strange or jarring shapes - was adopted by many of the world’s navies at the time.

Different shapes, angles and colours in the scheme were intended to confuse submariners peering through periscopes, making it hard for them at first to identify ships.

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This ‘dazzle camouflage’ was created by Royal Navy officer and artist Norman Wilkinson during the height of the first Battle of the Atlantic in 1917.

With Britain struggling to deal with the U-boat threat, Wilkinson came up with the idea of confusing U-boat skippers during patrols out of Plymouth.

The paint scheme was repeated again between 1939 and 1945, but with the end of World War II and the improvement of radar and optical devices, it was quickly phased out by the Royal Navy.

Shipwrights at the A&P yard in Falmouth have now added the dazzle scheme to HMS Tamar’s hull using 200 litres of paint, while still retaining the ship’s distinct red lion emblems on her superstructure.

Lieutenant commander Michael Hutchinson, HMS Tamar’s commanding officer, said: ‘We’re really proud of our new paint scheme and the historical significance that it comes with.

‘Different styles of dazzle were used by the Royal Navy on ships in various stations throughout the world and we are pleased to have been given an iconic new look before we deploy in the summer.’

Commander David Louis, commander of the Overseas Patrol Squadron, said that before dispatching HMS Tamar on her Pacific patrol, the navy had decided to give the River-class ships a distinct identity to recognise their extended missions.

He said: ‘Dazzle has much less military value in the 21st century although there is still value in littoral environments when viewed against the background of land.

‘It is very much more about supporting the unique identity of the squadron within the Royal Navy as part of their forward presence mission.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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