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"Merchant vessels around the world" Topic


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1,836 hits since 28 Aug 2016
©1994-2023 Bill Armintrout
Comments or corrections?

number429 Aug 2016 6:58 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 1:28 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.

Onomarchos Supporting Member of TMP30 Aug 2016 4:26 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 12:39 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 1:25 p.m. PST

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

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