"Question on painting USN WWII ships" Topic

Okay, this may seem obvious, but I have to ask anyway….
Often I read that the USN sometimes used color schemes in which one color was prescribed for vertical surfaces and another for "all horizontal surfaces." For example, deck blue might be the color for horizontal surfaces. My question is whether the phrase "all horizontal surfaces" is to be taken literally. In other words, were the upper decks painted deck blue as well as the main deck? Were the tops of gun turrets and the roofs of the superstructure also deck blue?

Yes.

I believe that all horizontal surfaces were painted in the listed color; upper decks, flight decks, turret tops, etc.

This site has some very knowledgable people on it concerning things like this: aaminis.myfastforum.org

This site may help a little too: link

Thanks.

"All horizontal surfaces" meant just that, and it included things like the upper surfaces of gun barrels as well. From painting instructions in SHIPS-2:

"Unless otherwise indicated, all horizontal surfaces which are visible from the air shall be painted Deck Blue 20-B. Exception: A stain of similar color has been provided for application to the flight decks of Aircraft Carriers. Sloping surfaces, such as the forward part of gun turrets, will be seen both from the air and from the surface, and the color of these areas shall be decided on the following basis:

"If the system is chosen for protection against aerial observation (Measure 21); paint sloping surfaces Deck Blue 20-B.

"If the system is intended for protection against surface or submarine observation; paint the sloping areas with the same color used for the adjacent vertical surfaces."

Note that flight decks were stained, not painted, and until 1945 the color(s) of the stain were noticeably different from 20-B Deck Blue. The stain was revised in 1945 to the same color as 20-B, and this continued on into the Korean War period.