The Hood Association site is run by Frank Allen and it's a part-time thing as most information sites are. The schemes on our own site were written in WEM days. Following this thread, I've made a start on updating them where I can. Some (disruptive pattern schemes) need to be revisited though.
The medium grey thing, wherever it is stated, appears to be baseless. I'd thought that was demonstrated but I may be struggling to articulate the point definitively enough. The full expanded description of Home Fleet grey was "Dark Grey, Home Fleet shade". From 1936 to 1940 this paint was only listed in the Rate Book as Admiralty Pattern 507B.
AFO211/39 introduced Admiralty Patter 507A on 19th January 1939:
Quote:
Dark grey paint, Home Fleet shade, for other than weather work, is being added to the Authorised List as Pattern 507a. The formula is the same as for Pattern 507B except that the enamel is omitted.
2. The description of Pattern 507B has been amplified to read:- "Paint mixed dark grey, Home Fleet shade, for weather work"
Capital ships on Home Fleet station in Home Fleet Grey.
CB3016 extract memo on 18th December 1939 read:
Quote:
Sir,
With reference to your letter No.N.C.388/6801 of 8th November , 1939, I am commanded by My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to inform you that H.M. Ships on foreign stations are painted as follows (vide C.B.3016(37), paragraph 261), and C.B.3016 (34), paragraph 179):-
Cruisers and larger vessels - light grey all over
Destroyers - dark grey hulls and light grey upper works
Submarines - royal blue on Mediterranean Station, and a dark olive colour on China Station.
2. All ships of the Home Fleet, including submarines, are painted Home Fleet grey, and a matt surface paint is employed both at home and on foreign stations.
Home Fleet Temporary Memorandum 288 dated 20th August 1940 reinforces the evidence for use of Home Fleet grey with this:
Quote:
...
2. Capital ships and aircraft carriers of the Home Fleet when in Home Waters are to be painted Home Fleet Grey. Cruisers, at the discretion... blah blah etc etc
If a medium grey was in use on capital ships, the Admiralty were entirely unaware of it, and furthermore the fleets were in mass disobedience of the Admiralty.
The only reference to a medium grey existing in a formal capacity is within the context of CAFO 1112/42 (available to download from my website
https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/pages/royal-navy-colours-of-world-war-two-c-a-f-o-1112-camouflage-of-sea-going-ships-june-1942) which permits a mix of 507A and 507C, named as Home Fleet grey and gave this specific context:
Quote:
V. EMERGENCY DESIGNS : CAMOUFLAGE WITHOUT PATTERN
21. In the following paragraphs instructions are given for painting a ship with a simple equivalent
of each class of design described in Section III above, using only White, Home Fleet Grey and
Mediterranean Grey.
These schemes of painting will be of about the same value for concealment as patterned designs,
but will produce less confusion. They are intended for use when there is no time to obtain or paint to a
pattered camouflage design.
Little experience has been gained with these emergency designs and the equivalent (a) of LIGHT
TONE designs should not be applied to ships larger than Destroyers, except for special operations, owing
to the increased visibility in sunlight.
(a) Equivalent of LIGHT TONE Designs. All weather work should be painted pure white except
for a band right round the ship, extending from the water-line half-way up to the forecastle
deck or half-way up to the upper deck in ships without a forecastle deck. This band should be
Light Grey Admiralty Pattern 507C and should cover the boot topping (vide C.A.F.O.
2515/41).
(b) Equivalent of LIGHT MEDIUM TONE Designs. – All weather work should be painted Light
Grey Admiralty Pattern 507C except for a band right round the ship, extending from the
water-line half-way up to the forecastle deck or half-way up to the upper deck in ships
without a forecastle deck. This band should be painted with a mixture of equal parts Light
Grey Admiralty Pattern 507C and Dark Grey Admiralty Pattern 507A, and should cover the
boot topping (vide C.A.F.O. 2515/41).
(c) Equivalent of DARK MEDIUM TONE Designs. – All weather work should be painted with a
mixture of equal parts Light Grey Admiralty Pattern 507C and Dark Grey Admiralty Pattern
507A.
(d) Equivalent of DARK TONE Designs. – All upper works should be painted with a mixture of
equal parts Light Grey Admiralty Pattern 507C and Dark Grey Admiralty Pattern 507A. The
hull should be painted all Dark Grey Admiralty Pattern 507A.
(e) In all Schemes of Painting the undersides of platforms and horizontal projections, blast
shields, etc. should be painted White. All parts of a ship which are permanently in shade or
shadow should also be painted White.
My bold above
I have seen not one shred of evidence that an all over medium grey scheme existed. Even the CAFO1112 emergency mix above was only to be used on part of the ship, not all over.
There was a little wriggle room on the exact tone of Home Fleet Grey, as described in here
https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/pages/royal-navy-colours-of-world-war-two-pattern-507s-g10-and-g45.
The only challenge attempted on the above was on Steel Navy, where Alan Raven told me that Claude Muncaster had told him that 507B was a mix of 507A and 507C. Given that we know the Admiralty was publishing Rate Books and Fleet Orders which directly contradict that, we may explain that anomaly by speculating that Claude Muncaster was infact referring to the emergency mix paint - something that did happen during his tenure.
To repeat - if there ever was a Admiralty Pattern 507B Medium Grey during the run up to or during the Second World War, the Admiralty was unaware of it - because the Admiralty believed it was Dark Grey, Home Fleet shade - or simply Home Fleet Grey.
On a model it's immaterial as in real life the only visible difference was whether it had a glossy or a matt finish.
As posted previously on this site, this is our 13%RF version of Home Fleet Grey outdoors against a black pseudo boot-topping. That chip is one of six cut from a post card sprayed with the prototype shade I mixed, measured and iterated:
As evidenced, the dark grey looks right in context. They trouble everyone is probably having is getting their head around the fact that Snyder & Short's 507A and B are BOTH non-representative of Home Fleet Grey. The "507A Dark Grey" is too dark and the "507B Medium Grey" is too light. Neither of them is a good representation of Home Fleet Grey. As some can only apparently process a single variable at a time, upon hearing that 507B "Medium Grey" didn't exist they default to their present very dark impression of 507A then struggle to reconcile that with photographic evidence from the real ships.