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[Mohawk Nick]

This picture is one of the reference photographs that i have been using whilst building HMS Mohawk. Its the best image i have and shows a lot of detail mainly due to it being shot in excellent light. What i have noticed is that if you look carefully at the point where the hull ends and the lifeboat davits start, there is a very clear change of colour. Once you see this difference it becomes clear that the vents and funnels etc are also much darker than the hull. My theory is that this photo may show a very early and somewhat basic attempt at ship concealment using colour. I understand that early torpedo boat destroyers were painted black as this was believed to be the best defence against searchlights. Pre-war TBD's were painted "battleship grey" (a very dark charcoal grey). This practice didn't last long due to fears over the availability of dark pigments as the war went on. The more i look at this photo, the more it appears to me that the hull is painted dark grey and everything above the hull line is painted black. Is this a possibility? It would, for the time, fit in with some basic ideas about camouflage and could make for an interesting paint scheme. Any takers?

[deadbeat]

My book 'The First Destroyers' show that around 1908 experiments were undertaken as to colour and most of the colour choice hinged around visibility under searchlight as well as daylight.

Dull black was the best under searchlight conditions and dull grey in daylight.

There was a school of thought that black hull and dull light grey upperworks would be the best solution. My book doesn't state how far this was adopted, biut it is credible that this scheme was used for a while. Inside vent cowls were red.

By the end of 1916 all destroyers were grey all over.

[dodes]

I have about 4 pics of Amazon , 1 of Viking and a colour print of Mohawk, when post image works again I will post them otherwise send me your email address and I will send them.

[dodes]

Between the wars the home fleet destroyers where normally painted med grey with the Med ones light grey, as the Med was the top fleet it got the newer boats that is why I presume you see so many pics of destroyers in light grey because they are the ones everyone wants a pic of. In my Deans box, the colours for Amazon is standard Grandfleet 1914-16, then dark grey hull and medium grey upperworks. I have photos that seem to go this way. The Amazon at some time had its fore funnel cut down to the same height as the others, so I presume the one of her in light grey is a Med shot, because I presume as a new boat she with her Flotilla went out there for a while to trial them. Because a wright up on them said that they where found not suitable for long passages because of heavy fuel consumption, due to having no turbine gearing as later ships did. So during the Great War they worked exclusively in the Dover patrol. There is a pic of Mohawk in Jane's but it is a WW1 one it shows a black or very dark grey hull and med grey upperworks, but the detail is poor.

[dodes]

Sorry it appears the pic titles did not come across, of the black and wight pics, all are Amazon except the bottom one which is Viking. I am painting mine dark grey hull, med grey upperworks and corticene decks.

[Mohawk Nick]

Thank you for your feedback.

[dodes]

Thats okay found another pic of her.