Anchors Away!

I've been listening a lot to the "Unauthorized History of the Pacific War" on YouTube, which does some very detailed examinations of several of the many surface actions around the Solomon Islands in late 1942 to '43. One of the hosts being a retired naval officer really gives some good insights into why things happened the way they did sometimes. So as a break from the Mediterranean Theater I decided to get some Pacific Theater models ready. A lot of these battles would be quite well sized for Snorkers! (Good Oh!). Because the narrow waters around the islands limited the maneuvering of larger units, the actions were mostly destroyer and light cruiser affairs.

Perfect.

My 1:2400 fleets were pretty unimaginiative in grey, which is basically "Measure 1". Dark grey or dark blue decks make it "Measure 3." So I decided to try and delve into USN naval camouflage for the war.

Old 1:2400 and new 1:1800

I think the new basing gives more action, and going bigger isn't taking up much more sea room.

Boy, howdy!

There were TWENTY-FIVE different camouflage schemes used by the USN at one time or another during the war. Several all at the same time or overlapping significantly.

 

So, you've got to figure out when they were used, where they were used, and which were just for submarines or landing craft etc. Or only used by one or two ships as an experiment.

The Wikipedia article World War II Ship Camouflage Measures of the United States Navy was very helpful. Complete with useful colour swatches to try and compare my existing paints to, instead of working on guesses from photographs or buying a specialty paint set.

Two squadrons of Fletcher class destroyers 

Despite my best efforts, 2 ships were crooked on their bases, so I painted their wakes to make them look like they were maneuvering at speed.

Trying to strike a balance between accuracy, easy to paint, and pleasing to the eye, I settled on "Measure 12" as the most likely livery worn by USN ships during the battles of the Solomon Islands campaign.

I hope. Maybe it's "Measure 14?" 

For the "Ocean Grey" hulls I used French Grey Blue. The "Haze Grey" upperworks were dry brushed with Light French Blue. The "Deck Blue" for the decks I used Admiral Blue. Which might not be exact but it's the same colour I use for the bases. 

Atlanta class 5" CLs in front

Brooklyn class 6" CLs in front

But here's a nice Task Force of 2x Brooklyn class CLs, 2x Atlanta class CLs, and 8x Fletcher class DDs. Although I need two more 6" gun CLs to make a complete Cruiser Division for an action like Empress Augusta Bay.

I've got two Northampton class CAs and two battleships to paint until some Porter, Sims, and Bagley class destroyers arrive from Don's printer farm. I'll hold off printing labels until I can do them all at once.