Ship Disguises in World War 1
-
https://www.popsci.com/technology/wwi-dazzle-camo/
During World War I, Allied navies started implementing shocking, cubist-inspired “dazzle” paint jobs on ships. The now-iconic geometric designs were intended to throw off the visual perception of German U-boats crews and prevent them from accurately targeting ships with torpedoes. Conventional wisdom claims the bizarre camouflage pattern worked and helped turn the tide of Great War naval battles. But new research reevaluating one of the only rigorous studies testing that hypothesis suggests those conclusions were probably overblown. Researchers now claim another phenomena known as the “horizon effect” may have actually done more to throw off submarine gunners than the wacky aesthetic.
