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"Merchant vessels around the world" Topic


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2,362 hits since 29 Aug 2016
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Comments or corrections?

number429 Aug 2016 7:58 p.m. PST

How quickly after the outbreak of war did the merchant fleets of the various nations paint their ships gray?

rtc10530 Aug 2016 2:28 a.m. PST

Don't believe they ever did. Liners taken up by the Navy as troopships would be repainted but ordinary merchantmen would largely retain their company colours.

Onomarchos30 Aug 2016 5:26 a.m. PST

I agree with RTC. I remember reading how German Raiders would repaint their ships to correspond to various merchant shipping colors.

Personal logo Herkybird Supporting Member of TMP30 Aug 2016 1:39 p.m. PST

My late uncle, who served on HMS Norfolk, said a lot of ships rapidly adjusted their colours to various greys, though some kept vestiges or complete original colours. I think I remember him saying Grey was most common in home waters, and company colours on Neutral ships.
Some pictures I have found show some ships with dark grey/black hulls, and lighter upperworks

picture

Shagnasty Supporting Member of TMP31 Aug 2016 2:25 p.m. PST

Warring nations usually went to grey in WW II. The Germans used neutral shipping colors most frequently.

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