The Ship Model Forum

Kia ora,

this one for the Royal Navy WW2 camouflage experts. I recently bought a copy of Jack Williams excellent The Algerines and am intrigued by the colours supposedly worn by HMS Espiegle. This has a similar pattern to that of HMS Hound and HMS Mutine (as illustrated in Royal Navy Warship Camouflage by Peter Hodges) but the colours are mentioned by Williams as green and brown - with the ship's nickname of "The Potato Patch". I have no real idea of what this could be but might consider the following:

superstructure/upperworks in AP507C or MS4A?

pattern: lighter background darker stripes
Flotta Green Flotta Brown
WA Green Flotta Brown
Stone (as on HMS Grenade) Flotta Green
Any ideas welcome. Many thanks.
Cheers,
GrahamB

image courtesy of the IWM website. Fair use.

(Away from my references and photos.) Your attached IWM picture (FL 11768) looks to me like an on-completion photo received by the Admiralty Curator 4th March 1943. No reason to doubt anything but standard colours, perhaps as per Hodges, for that scheme/design. The photo having presumably been taken in December 1942 that leaves plenty of time for subsequent repainting to other schemes 1943-45. Can you tell from Williams when he was referring to her being in green and brown/acquiring the potato patch moniker? Working close inshore off Italy and then Greece maybe something to disguise her against a land background was felt to be needed for a time? Doubt that the colours would have been the long-discontinued flotta ones or stone. Perhaps something acquired locally, perhaps from the Army?

Hello Dick,
Thanks for replying. HMS Espiegle was completed 1 December 1942 and joined 12th M/S Flotilla at Gibraltar in early 1943 and from May was sweeping the Sicilian channels. Williams states directly that her camouflage pattern was similar to that of Mutine (and others) "but her colours were brown and green rather than grey.. .." So, either completed as such or the pattern repainted. Mmm....
Cheers,
GrahamB

P.S. I note that in Malcolm Wright's book (pinches of salt required for analysis, and colour-misrepresentations of stated Admiralty paints) there are several profiles of destroyers serving in the Mediterranean with "sand" as an applied colour. Makes sense. Weirdly, his profile of HMS Blankney (Hunt Class, page 68) might show roughly what HMS Espiegle exhibited - different pattern though and he says the green is B30!