That time artists camouflaged WWI battleships with psychedelic paint

Airmen and seamen cheering King George V from the aircraft carrier 'Argus' on his visit to the Fleet at Rosyth, on the Firth of Forth. The carrier is painted in 'dazzle' camouflage

Image: Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

During WWI, Allied warships, troop ships and merchant supply ships were all targeted by the German forces. The Allies had to find a way to limit these attacks, but camouflaging ships against the sea and sky proved impossible for all weather conditions.

The artist Norman Wilkinson proposed the "exact opposite of camouflage" — a system of stripes and jagged lines, later called "Dazzle" camouflage. Wilkinson hired a camouflage unit to apply his designs, which were tested on small wooden models painted by by women from London's Royal Academy of Arts Read more...

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