"The end of peace time color schemes for warships" Topic

What year did Great Britain, France, and the US stop using the white/ochre/black type peace time color schemes on their ships?

I think the Royal Navy ended in 1903, but my memory ainīt what it used to be.

Near enough – dark grey was the official scheme from August 1902 for the Royal Navy, but I doubt everyone repainted at once. Not sure about the Americans, but it was definitely several years later, as the great white fleet was after the Russo-Japanese war – I think they basically switched to grey as soon as it got home though. The French were earlier I think – some time in the 1890s.

Thought this one would be easier than it was…

Grey seems to have been in use during the late 19th Century for some ships, but proved difficult to find the end of the white/ochre/black system. I've been reduced to looking through 'The Encyclopaedia of Ships' – the German cruiser Gneisenau is shown in this scheme in 1906, the Emden in 1910 had ochre funnels, the Swedish cruiser Fylgia whole scheme in 1905. A Greek cruiser has the scheme in 1910. THere are a few other examples.

Ochre funnels still seem to be around in 1920 – the British cruiser Emerald.

In the US, the Great Whit Fleet did it's trip from 1907 to 1909: the Wikipaedia article shows a postcard of the flagship still in white/ochre scheme.

However, that late most ships seem to be grey.

My own 'best guess' is that different theatres would have different paint schemes, with white/ochre/black hanging on in the Med or Asia for longer than in Northern waters, with battleships being the first to change over. The late examples I've found seem to be cruisers or smaller.

Sorry if this rambles a bit – I was typing up as I found examples.

Dom thatīs right about the Great White Fleet. I remember now that as soon as they came home all that lovely white and ochre was changed to gray.

I believe that in the Far East "Cruising" ships of the RN, that is cruisers and sloops, retained the white and buff colour scheme until the outbreak of WW2.

Other oddities were ships like the sloop HMS Enchantress, originally HMS Bittern, which served as an Admiralty yacht. In this role she was painted in black and white. Pictures show there were at least two versions of this.

Another question is when did the black, yellow, white colours become a "peacetime scheme."

Ie, if a naval war had broken out in, say 1900, I expect that RN vessels would have been repainted in less striking colours. But if war had broken out in say 1880 I guess they would have kept them.

People thought about low-vis schemes much before that. They were applied to merchants who tried to run the blockade during the American Civil War. HMS Polyphemus, a torpedo vessel, intended to break into harbours at night, was painted grey, I think at all times.

But I wonder when point gun accuracy / ranges had extended far enough to make it worth reducing the visibility of blue water ships?

Alan

The Russian Baltic Fleet was the last fleet to fight under the the white/ochre/black type peace time colour scheme in 1905.