Complex question we'll likely never have fully answered. There's another poster here by the name of Michael Potter who has a different opinion than I and I will state up front that there are different opinions and your mileage may vary. He generally believes the neutral grays were in use and applied earlier in 1944 but I'm going to provide the background for why I believe "potentially limited application very early in 1945."
A little history lesson for background and foundation.
At the start of the War, the Navy had two "Paint Manufacturing Yards" (one on each coast, Norfolk Navy Yard for the Atlantic and Mare Island Navy Yard for the Pacific, although the Asiatic fleet is a separate issue) and one Yard for the development of new paint formulas (Philadelphia Navy Yard). Efforts by civilian companies to get the new formulas (mostly for merchant marine ships) were rebuffed. That started to change in 1943 and 44, when BuShips (Bureau of Ships) found out that BuOrd (Bureau of Ordnance) had sent out the formula for 5-O Ocean gray in reference to ordnance painting (It was supposed to be delivered in 5-O) and they allowed civilian companies to posses the formulas and manufacture paint for various contracts; however the initial yard assignments remained in place.
So, in June of 1944 we see
a directive to develop new neutral paint formulas. A proposed formula for #37 gray (the neutral "Light Gray") was approved in
late November 1944 with the note "
The information in reference (a) will be sent to the paint manufacturing yards for guidance in making the neutral gray paints from mixtures of white and black paints." We have a memo
the same day (November 23rd) sent to the paint manufacturing yards Mare Island and Norfolk with *approximate* formulas.
BuShips
sends a warning of sorts to various commands and activities of the Pacific fleet in November (keep in mind that this was before email so there was some delay). There's no real mention of the new paints in a
December memo, however a
January 3, 1945 letter to a civilian paint company indicates Mare Island and Norfolk have already changed to the new formulas by that date.
On January 18, 1945
Pacific Fleet Maintenance letter # 4-45 is issued, which describes the new paints to the Pacific Fleet and has this tidbit:
Quote:
5. The following instructions shall be followed by the addressees to conform to the changes noted above in camouflage painting practice and paint procurement:
(a) Continue the issue and use of white base and blue-black tinting material to produce the specified paints, until stocks are exhausted.
(b) Continue the issue and use of blue deck paint, Formula 20-B, Specification 52P48, until stocks are exhausted.
(c) If dependent upon the output of the paint manufacturing yards for the maintenance of camouflage paint stocks to meet the needs of ships in commission and new construction, begin to order the several paints in ready-mixed form as the situation demands in anticipation of the later non-availability of the blue-black tinting material.
(d) If dependent upon contracts and orders with paint manufacturers (i.e. civilian paint companies) for supply of camouflage paints to meet the needs of new construction, conversion, or deck machinery and topsides equipment, continue with present specifications until new leaflet specifications are made available.
"6. Paint manufacturing yards, will continue to fill requisitions, shipment requests or orders for white base paint, Formula 5-U where it is specifically indicated that it is required for the purpose of consuming stocks of blue-black tinting material.
So, the new paints are being manufactured by the Navy Yards in January, but not by civilian paint companies. The Yards are also ordered to issue old stocks of paint. I haven't found anything yet that discusses the amount of paint on hand anywhere and we *do not* know at this time when any particular activity ran out of the old paints and transitioned to the new ones.
Boxer is launched in December 1944 and commissioned in April of 1945. Boxer had been
ordered into Measure 21 in January 1945 (second page) and PacFleet Fleet Maintenance Office still defines Measure 21 as
all over Navy Blue on February 3rd. Is Pac Fleet FMO just behind/uninformed or were they waiting on the official order to switch a little over
two weeks later?
Boxer does her Shakedown in June and is on her way to the Pacific in late July. Questions I don't have answers for:
Is July enough time from January that the east coast would have exhausted their supply of 5-N Navy Blue?
Would they have repainted following shakedown or waited until on the west coast as part of clean up after installation of the non-panama canal compatible gun sponsons?
Is August enough time from January that Hunters Point would have used up their stock of 5-N Navy Blue?
I would tend to lean towards Navy Gray, but I have no documentation at this point that states one way or the other.
Was Hunters Point getting their paint from Mare Island or a local company?
_________________
Tracy White -
Researcher@Large"Let the evidence guide the research. Do not have a preconceived agenda which will only distort the result."
-
Barbara Tuchman