(This post not strictly in build sequence from previous post)
Well, how does one paint the hull camouflage for the Taranto 1940 attack? A clear picture taken on the days immediately prior to the attack would be helpful. I could find no such picture. Some informed deduction that would pass the straight face test would be the goal.
Initially, I discovered Profile Warship 10 that included on page 228 of a full color side starboard image … as she appeared when she launched the Fleet Air Arm attack on Taranto, 11 November 1940.. This image was drawn by T. Brittain and M. Trim. Here is an excerpt (trying to be respectful of copyright):
As you can see, a monochromatic gray.
I next saw a post from noted Royal Navy and Fleet Air Arm researcher Ian Gazeley:
Illustrious arrived in the Mediterranean in overall (medium) grey. Although there are very few photographs, I’d speculate that two distinct ‘Alexandria’ type schemes may have been were applied after she arrived in the Med. The first shows less contrast than the scheme worn at the time of her extensive damage on 10/1/41. This would be consistent with the dates recorded above, with the first scheme applied in September 1940 and the second in December 1940. It appears from the photographs I’ve seen that the repainting in February 1941 followed the same pattern as the December 1940 scheme.
Gazeley follows up on this post on 2007-07-02 with:
What do you make of this image of Illustrious? It is supposedly, ‘returning from Taranto’ at Alexandria. If so, it is after her repaint at Alexandria in September 1940. The scheme shows much less contrast than the one worn in January 1941, following the December repaint, but generally follows the same pattern.
Unfortunately, the URL no longer resolves to a photo
Further research has this posting by Laurence Batchelor 2007-07-02:
Do my eyes deceive me or am I seeing faint patterned camouflage?
My impression has always been Illustrious was dark grey overall for the convoy operation and subsequent Taranto raid.
However I have seen this pattern shown before and evidence that it was on her in 1940 and shown on her whilst returning to Alex from the Taranto raid.
This has been a lingering dilemma which I never fully researched to resolve.
More uncertainty came from Alan Raven’s book Warship Perspectives Camouflage Volume One: Royal Navy 1939-1941 that has a drawing of Illustrious with disruptive camouflage and the caption ..
this pattern was carried from late 1940 until the completion of her refit in the UK in 1942.
This would tie in with Gazeley’s date of 1940-12-14. Maddeningly, Raven says nothing about the first Alexandria painting mentioned by Gazeley on 1940-09-20/26 as that covers the Taranto period. Furthermore, the disruptive camouflage is just that – sharp edged. A fragment of the image (again, copyright respectful) is shown here:
Video footage of Illustrious entering Malta in January 1941 did not indicate much camouflage at all, if any.
Fortunately, one of the posters on The Ship Model Forum, “dick”, led me to video footage of October 1940 convoy cover operations prior to Taranto.
Here is a screen cap:
If you click on the image to see in a larger size, you can see that Illustrious is not in disruptive camouflage. This is what I decided to go with. And, I could be wrong but time to move on.
With my trusty Colourcoat paints, I used 507A, 507B, and 507C with as best a representation as I could discern of the video’s camouflage demarcation points.
Cropredy Illustrious Project 