phil gollin wrote:
Attached, I hope is a photo I picked up years ago second-hand which was labelled on the back "HMS Rodney 1940" - but whether it is or not I don't know. I am pretty positive it is a print of an IWM photo, but can't confirm that. It has periodically got lost in my "filing", but turned up yesterday.
I am posting it as it MAY show the mysterious darkening of RN warship decks by soaking it in some sort of gunk. HOWEVER, I may be very mistaken - all opinions are welcome.
What I SEE is a work party relatively carefully using rags to cover the decks in SOMETHING. It is obviously dark (see sailors hands and forearms) and relatively watery (see sailor wringing out cloth over bucket.
IF it isn't putting something dark on, then it MIGHT be using some sort of solvent to take something off or to clean the decks.
Over to the clever people.
The methodical way it is being applied suggests its more than mere cleaning, unless RN ratings cleaned eask teak plank in a uniform manner, in wartime, which seems unrealistic.
This does seem to fit the anecodotal evidence which was posted last year from a members PoW survivor relative or friend that a dark water-down solvent/tar based product was applied to fresh teak decking in order to tone-down the bright teak colour and to also waterproof it.
P.S. I can never be labeled a clever person!