
How Cubism Protected Warships in World War I - sgrytoyr
https://www.wired.com/story/dazzle-camouflage-san-diego-world-war-i/
======
pavel_lishin
A good example of how it was supposed to work - it really is hard to figure
out where the ship is actually heading:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_camouflage#/media/File:...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_camouflage#/media/File:EB1922_Camouflage_Periscope_View.jpg)

~~~
digi_owl
Wish those were actual photographs and not an artists interpretation for an
encyclopedia.

I must admit however it took me a moment to find the bow on this image:

[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_West_Mahomet_(ID...](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_West_Mahomet_\(ID-3681\)_cropped.jpg)

------
24gttghh
I was under the impression that the effectiveness of Dazzle camouflage was
debatable, if not outright ineffective? There were no standardized patterns by
which they could be studied for their effectiveness in WWI, and by WWII when
such schemes were standardized, they were rendered moot by rangefinders and
radar.

~~~
dforrestwilson
Yes the impact was likely hit or miss without standardization. Here's a
modern-day application :
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MARPAT](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MARPAT)

~~~
fenwick67
I would consider MARPAT and other digital camos related but distinct from
Dazzle.

~~~
24gttghh
Aye, there is also a significant difference between hiding a many thousand
ton, hundreds of meters long ship on the high seas, and a 1 meter tall human
being in the forest.

~~~
lostlogin
That is a very small soldier.

~~~
24gttghh
Ha! you're right. Maybe.. 1.7 meters?

------
pjc50
There's a modern example of this at anchor in Edinburgh:
[https://edinburghartfestival.com/dazzle](https://edinburghartfestival.com/dazzle)

I've seen it in person, but what I've not tried and I wonder if anyone has, is
photographing it from some distance across the sea to see if it's meaningfully
camouflaged. I'm not sure that's possible at it's current location because of
the harbour.

~~~
linsomniac
Dazzle isn't about making it hide, it's about making it hard for a submarine's
periscope (before the advent of radar) have trouble figuring out the speed and
direction the ship is traveling. Remember, you have to fire a torpedo at where
the target is going to be, not where it is.

This is why Dazzle often uses fake bow wakes (an indication of speed) and
lines going off in different directions (making it hard to tell the true
direction optically).

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_camouflage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_camouflage)

------
goldfeld
Also Dazzle Ships by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark is an excellent record.

