The Ship Model Forum

Some questions about what the Royal Navy did with its decks during World War II:

1. Were wooden decks generally painted, or left bare?
2. I've seen quite a few references in these pages to linoleum and something called Semtex as deck materials, including the information that they were left unpainted in various color schemes. So what color would those materials have been?
3. A couple of the old Airfix kits I have in my closet call for green decks. Can that be right? And if so, what manner of green are we talking about?
4. What about aircraft carrier flight decks? I know that in the contemporary US Navy, flight deck stain was never quite the same shade as the standard Deck Blue. Was there a similar situation in the Royal Navy?

1. Sometimes yes, sometimes no, sometimes stained. Depends on when and which ship.
2. RN Corticene (linoleum) was described as a chocolate brown. RN Semtex has been reported as grey, blue, brown and green, varying by time and ship. Much info behind this already posted on this site is available via the search facility.
3. Depends which Airfix models.
4. Another hardy perennial. Try this site's search facility for ‘Bronze grey’. During the war some/many were however painted in other non-slip deck paint camouflage colours. Again it depends which ship and when.