I just read that the deck of the Arizona was painted blue. Is the true? If so, what color blue is the closest?
Thanks,
Jesse
According to this site: http://www.shipcamouflage.com/ all the Pennsylvania class ships, including the Arizona had an MS1 paint scheme at the time of Pearl Harbor. Which would have made the decks Dark Grey.
Here is the description of the MS1 paint scheme: http://www.shipcamouflage.com/measure_1.htm
I seriously doubt she would have had deck gray, or deck blue, on her decks on December 7th. As far as I can tell from the research I’ve done, including looking at the overhead photos taken by IJN Kates dropping bombs from high atlitude, the decks are far too light to be anything but natural wood.
This is also represented in paintings by Tom Freeman. Now, before you going saying that its a painting…I know Tom and he researches his materials thoroughly before he starts a painting…so I trust his decision to show Arizona with natural wood decks.
Jeff Herne
Ahhh! As I was thinking you had a point there I went back and re-read the camo scheme. Way down at the bottom it said all deck surfaces should be painted deck grey except for wood surfaces, which would remain natural until a suitable paint or stain was found to darken them. It also said when in doubt, such as in sloping surfaces Dark Grey should be used.
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If you want to stir up a hornet’s nest, slide over to WWW.steelnavy.com and post this same question. [}:)]
On that forum there has been an off-again on-again debate on this very subject. I haven’t really paid that much attention, since I don’t have a Dec. 7th Arizona in the near offing. Basically the deal is that Steve Wiper of Classic Warships claims to have some photographic evidence to support the blue ship theory, but has not yet published the photos on-line or in one of his Warship Pictorial books. His opponents have politely, and sometimes not so politely, told him essentially to “put up or be quiet”.
Normally, in light of so many opinions to the contrary, I would discount the “blue ships at Pearl Harbor” theory, however, Steve has clearly done a lot of homework with collecting and analyzing photos in his other Warship Pictorial books, so I can’t immediately discount it.
Actually, the subject was deck colors…and even if some of the battleline were painted 5-S or 5-N as Steve implies, the decks would have still been natural wood, as the written verbage for Ms1a only indicates that 5-S replace 5-D. There’s no changes in the rulings of deck practices that I’ve been able to find.
JH
Re-reading my original post, I see that I was rather ambiguous. My recollection of the blue ship debate on SteelNavy was that it referred not only to vertical surfaces but to the wooden decks as well.
Part of the “debate” on SN was also which ships in the battleline had their decks painted. IIRC, there have been assertions that the Tennessee had her teak decks painted deck blue, as she was supposedly wearing 5N and not 5D as part of her Ms1 camo that day - at least according to the theories put forth by Mr. Wiper.
The whole debate is rather facinating. Still, if you are building an AZ, you CAN build her in Ms1 with 5D Dark Gray. Even if she was wearing 5N by 12/7/41, it seems that she was in 5D sometime before colliding with the Oklahoma that fall. I’ve got a Toms Modelworks '41 Arizona started, I’ve already started painting her 5D.
I am reading the Book “The USS Arizona” by Joy Waldron Jasper, James P. Delgado, and Jim Adams. They interviewed many survivors and most of the the enlisted men recall tales of polishing the teak wood decks when the first came aboard the Arizona. That would suggest to me that the decks were left unpainted.
Steve
There’s no doubt that Arizona had bare teak while wearing Measure 1… the question is, did they apply color to the decks prior to December 7th, and how was she painted at the time of the attack? Until photographic evidence proves otherwise (along with the blue debate) I’m going to say ‘no’, her decks were bare and she was wearing grays, not blues.
Jeff
I agree with Jeff, It seems most crewmembers remember the Gray&bare wood combo also. Hey with all the debate it’s a safe choice anyway you look at it…[^][^]
The model of the Arizona at the Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor shows it with natural wood decks. I would guess they if anyone would know.