GNC pp140-188_German Naval Camouflage 23/11/2012 12:57 Page 178
German Naval Camouflage 1939 – 1941 Bismarck, German destroyers, 24 AugustOperation 1940, as commissioned Weserübung, 13 April 1940
No camouflage system had ever been used on German warships while on operations and when war broke out ships wore their standard peacetime colours. This was not peculiar to the Kriegsmarine. Italy’s Regia Marina would not delve into the matter seriously well into 1940, with the first schemes appearing in March of the next year. The Imperial Japanese Navy would tarry even more and most of their warships never used any type of concealment. The destroyer in the side and top plan view is unidentified; next down
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is the plan view of Z11 Bernd Von Arnim and finally the same view for Z18 Hans Lüdemann (bottom). All are depicted on the same day when they were sunk during the Weserübung operations in Norway.* These variations show how captains interpreted the orders when applying the national markings. There is a strong possibility that some of the destroyers used all yellow coloured semi-turrets, as it was certainly done later on in the war; and, again, orders were not that specific. Except for the upper bridge, the decks were dark grey (Dunkelgrau). *The after flag positions on Z11 and Z18 are speculative