SovereignHobbies wrote:
It would be good if it were possible to tag other users on this forum like more modern platforms as I'd like to get Richard Dennis' attention here.
OK, je suis ici!
On page 4 I quoted what Alan Raven wrote back in 2015 on the question of Naiad’s colours as featured in his 1973 Ensign publication. Alan wrote: "In the early seventies, the only data that I had on this ship as she appeared in 1940, leaned strongly to her being in the Flotta scheme, which Home Fleet cruisers were painted in at this time. After the Ensign was published, people came forward, all stating that the ship was never in brown and green, but in BLACK and GREY. Hence the difference in the later publication."
Since then I have found further supporting information in the form of two memos on a DTSD file that would rule out Naiad having been in the green and brown colours of the Flotta scheme. The first was from the CO of RN Air Station Hatston dated 6th August 1940 stating that that it was cruisers of the 18th Cruiser Squadron of the Home Fleet that wore the Flotta scheme. The second was a memo from the C-in-C Home Fleet (Forbes) dated 19th August 1940 stating that the only ships then still wearing the Flotta scheme were cruisers of the 18th Cruiser Squadron.
When Dido first arrived at Scapa on 26th July 1940 to work up she joined the 15th Cruiser Squadron and was still in this squadron when she transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1941.
As for the decks, I have higher quality versions of both the aerial photos that Tim has linked to (and one further one). The forecastle deck appears unpainted/unstained as the caulking lines between the deck planking show up:
Attachment:
Naiad 1940 forecastle.jpg [ 134.07 KiB | Viewed 6786 times ]
On the quarterdeck there is no such striping - it is all one uniform colour:
Attachment:
Naiad 1940 quarterdeck.jpg [ 136.56 KiB | Viewed 6786 times ]
The forecastle deck also appears generally lighter than the quarterdeck. It is strange that her decks should have been 50/50 in this way. Maybe they were halfway through painting/staining them and got interrupted? I wonder if they ever finished the job?!
There is a sharp tone divide level with the forward face of the aft deckhouse with the area around the torpedo tubes lighter than the quarterdeck aft:
Attachment:
Naiad 1940 divide.jpg [ 96.64 KiB | Viewed 6786 times ]
This might be a dividing line between the unpainted/unstained and painted/stained deck areas but it might also suggest Semtex around the TTs. It would be good to know what deck surface the As Fitteds show in this area.