Razzle Dazzle!

Whilst sitting on the couch last night sewing flowers out of silk scraps (stay tunned will inform you of ‘why’ in another blog later today) I was watching ‘James May’s 20th Century’, in which he looked at how how warfare drives ingenuity. I was hooked, not only by the RAF’s latest supersonic jet (when I was eight, post G.I. Jane I was ready to shave my head and join the army, so supersonic planes have ever since made me go weak at the knees) but also by some called ‘Razzle Dazzle Camouflage’. Razzle what?! Dazzle who?! Thats sounds too jazzy to be true! But it is.

During World War I, the British and Americans faced a serious threat from German U-boats, which were sinking allied shipping at a dangerous rate. All attempts to camouflage ships at sea had failed, as the appearance of the sea and sky are always changing. Any color scheme that was concealing in one situation was conspicuous in others. A British artist and naval officer, Norman Wilkinson, promoted a new camouflage scheme that was derived from the artistic fashions of the time, particularly cubism. Instead of trying to conceal the ship, it simply broke up its lines and made it more difficult for the U-boat captain to determine the ship’s course. The British called this camouflage scheme “Dazzle Painting.” The Americans called it “Razzle Dazzle.”

razzle dazzle in action

another varitation of the painting

U-boats did not aim their torpedos directly at a ship to sink it. Because the target was moving, it was necessary to aim ahead of its path in order for the torpedo to arrive in the correct spot at the same time as the ship. If the torpedo is too early or too late, it will miss. The primary goal of dazzle painting was to confuse the U-boat commander who was trying to observe the course and speed of his target. And they had the added bonus of being on board a ship with a jazz factor off the rector scale!

razzle1