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Royal Navy Colours of World War Two

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James Duff:
I hope it's ok to share here, but I've been busy the past year or two with a lot of assistance from at least one active member of this forum on a research project on Royal Navy paints from around the WW2 period. I set off on this journey because it was pointed out to me that one or two of our Snyder & Short based RN paint colours didn't reconcile too well with the originals.

As with all of these things, the more stones that were unturned and the more one pieced together all known surviving original official documents, the worse it got. We have ended up compiling a complete new set of colour chips and I had no choice but to write-off our RN paint stocks and produce them afresh to the latest information. Some of the conclusions have been stated here on this forum in various threads by the user mudway who happens to be the aforementioned co-researcher (there were/are three others), but in general it's so hard to build a complete understanding without seeing everything and it's so easy to find misinformation repeated that we compiled some short papers summarising the references, the pertinent parts therein and the conclusions reached. I'd like to share links to those (they're free to download)...

The first one we did was on the colours B5 and B15 - initially the only ones I thought I had a problem with  %):
https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/pages/royal-navy-colours-of-world-war-two-b5-and-b15

Next, we wrote one on the Pattern 507 family and encapsulated within that G10 and G45:
https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/pages/royal-navy-colours-of-world-war-two-pattern-507s-g10-and-g45

Our travels took me to both the National Archives at Kew and the Admiralty Library at Portsmouth where, armed with a portable device for digital colour measurement, I measured their samples of everything they had (including HMS Victory if anyone ever wants the "pink" colour on there...  :-))) and, combined with written recorded data from the 1940s prepared by scientists working for the navy, I realised there were issues with the majority of what was left so adjusted them all. The 1941 to 1943 Standard Camouflage Colours are written about in here:
https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/pages/royal-navy-colours-of-world-war-two-the-standard-camouflage-colours-1941-1943


If anyone is interested, I have produced facsimile copies of several important documents which provide good context behind these. We're also working right now on facsimile copies of (Confidential Book) CB.3098 (1943) which was previously available from White Ensign Models before we bought Colourcoats from their liquidator in 2014, albeit now with new digital illustrations rather than scanned copies of the somewhat yellowing originals (although they are still very helpful), but also the 1945 edition showing the late war Standard Schemes A and B, as well as CB.3098's predecessor which has never been available before, (Confidential Admiralty Fleet Order) CAFO.679/42 showing similar standard camouflage designs dating from 1942 using the MS&B paints rather than the B&G series from 1943.








Thanks for looking in  :-)

gra2:
Hi James interesting info.
Unfortunately I have used colourcoat G45on my Fairmile D.

Graham

Beagle1831:
This is really excellent research, following with interest on the model warships website. Would be really interested to see the 1942 design reference.
James

James Duff:
Hi folks,


Here's a new one on the 1943 to 1945 "B and G Series"


https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0730/0927/files/Royal_Navy_colours_of_World_War_Two_-_B_G_Series_Camouflage_Colours_1943_to_1945.pdf?2533840718009684560

Jonty:
  Just caught up on this - certainly blows a lot my beliefs out of the water!
  Great research - congratulations.

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