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

Destroyers

View by Design Number

Fletcher Class

View by Design Number

for DD-445

Design 10D

for DD-445

Design Number Silhouette Ships Wearing Design
for DD-445
Measure 31
Guest (DD-472)Halford (DD-480)
Boyd (DD-544)

Measure 32
Renshaw (DD-499)Conway (DD-507)
Daly (DD-519)Miller (DD-535)
The Sullivans (DD-537)Stembel (DD-644)
Bullard (DD-660)Kidd (DD-661)
Drawing

A redrawing of the master drawing for Design 3_/10D for the Fletcher class is shown here. The date was December 9, 1943. While the lightest color was not specified, Measure 32 would have used dull black (BK) and light gray (5-L) and Measure 31 would have used black (BK) and either ocean gray (5-O) or haze gray (5-H). At the left labeled D is the stern view showing the aft port black panel from its front edge as it wraps halfway around the stern; some ships added a gap between two panels, one on the stern and one on the port aft.

A Design 10D drawing was attached to the July 15, 1943, memo to PacFleet for the DD-384 Dunlap class using Measure 31. USS Pensacola (CA-24) appeared at Pearl Harbor in October 1943 in 33/10D. Design 10D was used as a design for the carrier USS Essex (CV-9) that was numbered 32/6-10D and applied during April 1944. The number 6 comes from a table used in some memos between the Bureau of Ships and Pacific Fleet around August 1943. This table listed camouflage designs and the sixth listing in the table under “Patterns” was Design 10D. Design 10D was also drawn for the Buckley class destroyer escorts on December 30, 1943.

Original drawing source: NARA 80-G-163663 and 80-G-163665.

ship_image