Anti Fouling Paint and Camouflage

[Nisgeis]

This is a question about the painting of the ships of WW2. I think all British surface warships were painted below the waterline with Lead Tetroxide (Red Lead) anti fouling paint to stop the growth of barnacles. The question is, what did the Japanese destroyers and tankers / cargo ships have painted on them under the waterline? In SH4, it's the same as above water, but is this accurate?

There's no camouflage evident in SH4's merchants - is this accurate for the late war period?

Also, were U.S. submarines' ballast tanks painted all black, or were they painted with red lead below the waterline?

Thanks in advance for any info.

[Sailor Steve]

You can find some of that info here:
http://www.combinedfleet.com/

They don't have a lot of side-views, but the ones of bigger ships show red bottoms; I would assume that destroyers are the same. Merchants I'm not sure about, but the technology was known everywhere, so one would think they used the best available.

As for merchant camoflage, that's going to take someone who's done a little more research on the subject than I have. For the US subs, the first person to read this who has a copy of any of the Squadron In Action books will be able to answer that. Mine's in storage.

[Nisgeis]

You can find some of that info here:
http://www.combinedfleet.com/

They don't have a lot of side-views, but the ones of bigger ships show red bottoms; I would assume that destroyers are the same.

Thanks a million Sailor Steve! I've been doing lots of research lately and each time I find something out it raises more questions, which I have to research. So I've been kind of chasing my tail, revisitting places and re-reading. Not all the information goes in first time. I think somwhere along the line I must have discounted this site as one I'd looked at before without seeing the answer to this question so thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

All the pics (artwork from model kits?) of the destroyers they have show red lead visible just above the waterline.

Now all I need to know is about the subs and merchant camouflage.

[Takao]

Here is a link to REPORTS OF THE U.S. NAVAL TECHNICAL MISSION TO JAPAN section dealing with Japanese naval paint.

http://www.fischer-tropsch.org/primary_documents/gvt_reports/USNAVY/USNTMJ%20Reports/USNTMJ-200I-0552-0583%20Report%20S-59.pdf

IT is a PDF file so you will need a PDF viewer to see it.

[subsRus]

Also, were U.S. submarines' ballast tanks painted all black, or were they painted with red lead below the waterline?Thanks in advance for any info.

My Uncle served aboard the USS Sargo 188 in the later part of WWII. A shipmate of his and two or three others who served on WWII subs out of Pearl tell me that prior to 1943 all of the subs including Sargo were solid black. Then, in 1943 the Navy began a new "camouflage" paint scheme which resulted in the solid black pressure hull as you describe, also solid black decking from bow to stern, and "haze gray" on all verticle surfaces including superstructure, conning tower and periscopes while the pressure hull remained black. Take a look at the new GATO CLASS 1/72 scale Revell Model which has made it's debut lately. The photos on the Revell Monogram site feature the newer paint (Haze Grey over Black). Toward the rear of the subs many of them with the new paint sported a slant of the gray paint area on the verticle part of the superstructure where the grey met the black in a two-tone arrangement and the black then ran all the way to and encompassed the stern and pressure hull completely. If you look closely at the simulation you will find the same thing... all the subs selected in the early part of the game are black and after about 1943 they are two-toned as I explain above. If you observe the beginning video when you launch the game (the one that is the background for the poem) you will notice the post-1943 two tone haze-gray over black with black decking. Indeed I found that the veterens I spoke or messaged with regarding these details confirmed the Silent Hunter IV details from the development team and engineers. This was an awesome finding for me and proves attention-to-detail. Very nice.

[Nisgeis]

Here is a link to REPORTS OF THE U.S. NAVAL TECHNICAL MISSION TO JAPAN section dealing with Japanese naval paint.

http://www.fischer-tropsch.org/primary_documents/gvt_reports/USNAVY/USNTMJ%20Reports/USNTMJ-200I-0552-0583%20Report%20S-59.pdf

IT is a PDF file so you will need a PDF viewer to see it.

Thanks for that info Takao, there's certainly enough reading to keep me entertained for a while!

Then, in 1943 the Navy began a new "camouflage" paint scheme which resulted in the solid black pressure hull as you describe, also solid black decking from bow to stern, and "haze gray" on all verticle surfaces including superstructure, conning tower and periscopes while the pressure hull remained black.

Thanks for posting that subRus and welcome aboard! I wonder if barnacles don't survive at depth and fall off, or they don't have enough time to attach... if not I wonder how they kept the hulls clear of them.