In World War II Italian warships were camouflaged using designs especially prepared for each individual ship The designs differed on port and starboard sides. The book “La Mimetizzazione Delle Navi italiane 1940-1945” by Erminio Bagnasco and Maurizio Brescia provides superb coverage for all warships.
That book also covers many merchant ship camouflage patterns. Italian merchant ships were most often painted to a set of standard designs. The standardized designs were identified as Type 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B, 3C and 4A. Only the starboard sides of those designs are included in the book. The port side may have been identical. In addition, there are separate designs covering both sides for the following ships: Zara, Lubiana, Arborea, Lero, Morisini, Ichnusa, Eolo, and D’annuzio, and photographs showing only one side of the following ships: Viminale, Francesco Barbaro, Conte di Savoia, Caterina Costa (2A), Citta di Genoa (2A), Calino (3A), Capo Orso (4A), Ravigno (2B), Foscolo (2A stbd and 1A port), Mar Bianco (2C with modified edges), Salvore (2A), Conegliano ex-french Min (2C), Cesteriano (3C), Ardor (3B, Giulio Giordani (2 port side views), and they are in the nd Proserpina ex French Beauce,
The website www/cherini.eu has excellent pencil sketches of Italian ships in camouflage. Over the years I found many other photos of Italian ships in camouflage which are included on the picture pages of my own blog ,This inclu des the submarine Francesca Rismondo, former Yugoslav Ostvetnik, which is not mentioned in the Bagnasco-Brescia book. Standard copyright at the time those pictures were taken was 70 years.
Wetherhorn 