by Rick E Davis » Thu Jun 24, 2010 6:41 pm
The question had come up before about what, if any, pattern was used on the decks of BENSON-GLEAVES units with Ms 31/32/33 dazzle schemes. After looking at a fair number of photos, I came to the conclusion that most (maybe all?) units stationed in the Atlantic didn't have a deck pattern applied ... just solid deck blue. Also, many of these "post-refit" photos were arranged to be taken on a shakedown cruise where they returned to the yard and there were still many little items that needed to be taken care of. Someone told me and after I checked enough photos I believed it was true that one of the last things done was to paint the deck. With all the yard work and extra traffic using the deck, it made sense waiting until the end of the refit to paint the deck. Also, I noticed that the whole deck couldn't be painted all at once and was done in sections. At least once, I noticed that the crew was applying deck thread from stacks of the pads while the ship was at sea.
I forgot; Two things. As part of the painting process, a primary was applied first, so a lighter color appears in these B&W photos. Also, sometimes the non-skid areas were applied like a coating of asphalt tar, which sort of looks like the case in these photos. Most time the non-skid surfaces were painted over to match the rest of the deck.
The question had come up before about what, if any, pattern was used on the decks of BENSON-GLEAVES units with Ms 31/32/33 dazzle schemes. After looking at a fair number of photos, I came to the conclusion that most (maybe all?) units stationed in the Atlantic didn't have a deck pattern applied ... just solid deck blue. Also, many of these "post-refit" photos were arranged to be taken on a shakedown cruise where they returned to the yard and there were still many little items that needed to be taken care of. Someone told me and after I checked enough photos I believed it was true that one of the last things done was to paint the deck. With all the yard work and extra traffic using the deck, it made sense waiting until the end of the refit to paint the deck. Also, I noticed that the whole deck couldn't be painted all at once and was done in sections. At least once, I noticed that the crew was applying deck thread from stacks of the pads while the ship was at sea.
I forgot; Two things. As part of the painting process, a primary was applied first, so a lighter color appears in these B&W photos. Also, sometimes the non-skid areas were applied like a coating of asphalt tar, which sort of looks like the case in these photos. Most time the non-skid surfaces were painted over to match the rest of the deck.