Fig. 15.—A camouflaged ship. It will be observed that a vessel so painted would, from a distance of several miles, give the appearance of a ship sinking while headed in the opposite direction.
So successful was this simple form of deceptive paint-work that a special camouflage section of the naval service, with an eminent artist as its director, was formed, and all kinds of grotesque designs were painted on the broadsides and superstructures of almost every British merchantman operating in the submarine danger zone.
There was method and meaning in the seemingly haphazard streaks of black, green, blue and white. When looked at from close range only a jumble of colours could at first be seen, but if the distance was increased the effect became instantly apparent. In some cases the deceptive decoration caused big ocean liners to appear small and insignificant. In others it gave the appearance that the vessel was sinking; while quite a favourite ruse was to cause the vessel to appear as if she was travelling in the opposite direction to that which she really was. Two-funnelled ships became single-funnelled, when viewed from a distance or in a dim light, by the simple expedient of painting one funnel black and the other light grey. Liners with tiers of passenger decks had the latter obscured by contrasts of colouring which were really masterpieces of deceptive art. In fact so deceptive became almost every ship in the dim light of dawn and dusk that collisions were often narrowly averted.
It frequently occurred that paint alone was not sufficient to disguise a ship, and woodwork and canvas were resorted to. Big guns were made of drain-pipes and shields of the wood from packing-cases. Cargo boats were given the appearance of cruisers, and cruisers reduced to the appearance of cargo boats. In this way hostile submarines were induced to attack ships, thinking them unarmed and helpless, when in reality they were small floating forts. But at this point simple camouflage ceases and the famous Mystery Ship begins. Before closing this chapter, however, it must be pointed out that camouflage only came into being when the German U-boats commenced their ruthless submarine warfare.
CHAPTER VII
MYSTERY SHIPS
The "Q" boat, or mystery ship, has been surrounded by so much secrecy that to most people its very being is an unknown quantity. Yet it is to these curious vessels of all sizes and types that the destruction of many hostile submarines was due, and the dangerous work performed by their intrepid crews equalled anything described in sea romance.
The mystery ship was not a specially constructed war vessel, such as a destroyer or cruiser, but merely a merchantman converted into a powerfully armed patrol ship, camouflaged to give the appearance of genuine innocence, but with masked batteries, hulls stuffed with wood to render them almost unsinkable, hidden torpedo tubes, picked gunners, a roving commission and a daring commander and crew. Their work was performed on the broad highways of the sea, and they hunted singly or in pairs, often fighting against overwhelming odds with certain death as the price of failure.