keithhufnagel wrote:
Hello "Atlanta" class guys. Question: What was Atlanta's (at the time of her loss) paint configuration? I always thought according to the references I have that she (and Juneau) was in MS-12 (mod) dapple using 5-S, 5-O, on the hull with 5-O, 5-H, on the superstructure. I have been told that she carried 5-N (apparently exclusive)on the hull and 5-O, 5-H on the superstructure. Can anyone show or tell me how to verify these quandries? Thank you.
Good question! The photos about 11 or 12 posts up on this thread show Atlanta with a solid-color hull and dapple superstructure. The ships in the South Pacific were gradually repainting into MS-21. The process was "catch-as-catch-can", meaning that part would be painted during one stopover and part at the next (and the next, etc.). The above photo has a claimed date of Oct 16, 1942, less than a month before her loss. It is the last "confirmed" scheme. It is possible that the repainting had been completed prior to her loss, the superstructure being easier to paint than the hull, but confirming that would have to come from anecdotal sources rather than photographic ones (unless something new is discovered). The last clear photo of Juneau (Rod Dickson's monograph, p37, dated to Sep '42) shows a uniformly colored superstructure and matching transom, but with a badly faded wave pattern on the port side of the hull. Rod claims that photos taken during Santa Cruz show that MS-21 was complete, but no such photos were included. (Distant, indistinct shots, yes, blow-ups of Juneau to confirm, no.)