Wetherhorn

Disruptive Camouflage at Gallipoli in 1915

Disruptive pattern, or Dazzle, camouflage was used in 1917 to save merchant ships from :U-boat attacks. But the idea of disruptive camouflage had been in actual use earlier, A British professor of zoology, John Kerr, had proposed the idea as a means of confusing range-finders. Then First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, liked the idea. He sent it to the fleet where individual ship captains and more senior officers were allowed to implement the idea at their own discretion. Many warships actually painted the distinctive white “Kerr splotches” at random on their ships. This form of disruptive camouflage only lasted as long as Churchill held his office. Churchill also supported the plan to land troops in Gallipoli to drive Turkey out of the war. The Gallipoli campaign failed. Churchill had to resign. And his favored scheme of disruptive spots fell out of favor. Royal Navy warships were all repainted in an overall grey.

I’ve seen several photographs of ships at Gallipoli in this type of camouflage. I decided to paint a few models in my collection to match them. Here they are:
The titles give the ship name, the side being viewed, and the maker of the original a:1250 model.

In the original photos AGAMEMNON and INVINCIBLE were still in the process of having the white splotches being painted so their patterns appear incomplete.