U.S. Navy Ships in WWII Dazzle Camouflage 1944-1945

Destroyers

View by Design Number

Mahan & Dunlap Classes

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for DD-384

Design 9D

for DD-384

Design Number Silhouette Ships Wearing Design
for DD-384
Measure 31
Dunlap (DD-384)

Measure 32
Fanning (DD-385)
Drawing

The drawing for Design 9D for the Dunlap class of destroyers; the original was dated May 10, 1944. The vertical colors were Measure 32: dull black (BK), ocean gray (5-O) and light gray (5-L). Both Dunlap and Fanning wore this Design, Fanning in Measure 32 and Dunlap in Measure 31 with haze gray (5-H) in place of light gray.

The first drawing for Design 9D was attached to the July 15, 1943, memo to PacFleet for Fletcher class. This design was redrawn on April 6, 1944, for the Allen M. Sumner class destroyers; and again on May 1, 1944, for Evarts class destroyer escorts. The cruiser USS Chester (CA-27) appeared in Design 9D beginning in June 1944. The camouflage worn by USS Ranger (CV-4) in July 1944 was a very good match for Design 9D even though the design was identified as 33/1A. Design 32/8Ax was an almost exact copy of 9D and was used by most of the ships of the Kenneth Whiting class of seaplane tenders.

Original drawing source: NARA 80-G-109637 and 80-G-109638.

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