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Standing on the main deck of the Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington, it’s impossible not to be awed by the offensive power of the vessel’s nine enormous 16-inch guns, capable of firing shells that weigh almost a ton. But what about the ship’s first line of defense? It would have to be equally intimidating, yes? Forget about the other guns bristling from stations around the deck. Imagine, instead, a menacing crew of deckhands wielding … paintbrushes.
When a flotilla of tugboats nudged the 729-foot-long, 35,000-ton USS North Carolina through a 90-degree turn on the Cape Fear River and into the ship’s permanent slip on October 2, 1961, it wore a peacetime livery of ho-hum haze gray. That’s the same color used in a scale replica of the North Carolina that model builder Jim Gower and several others recently spent about a year restoring.
By the time the Battleship North Carolina arrived in Wilmington on October 2, 1961, escorted by a team of tugboats, it had been repainted a standard “haze gray.” Photography courtesy of Hugh Morton Photographs and Films, North Carolina Collection, UNC Chapel Hill Library
Gower, a founding member of the New Bern Maritime Modelers Guild, has a long relationship with the North Carolina. As a schoolboy in Raleigh, he donated nickels and dimes to the “SOS” (Save Our Ship) campaign that brought the decommissioned battleship to our state. “I was down in Wilmington when the big boy came in,” remembers Gower, who skipped school and drove in with friends to see its arrival on that chilly and wet autumn morning.
But by 1995 — and just in time for an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of V-J Day — a surprise awaited visitors: The ship had been repainted in an astonishing camouflage paint scheme known as “razzle dazzle.” The new look harkened back to more than 40 years earlier, when the North Carolina was earning its stripes in the Pacific. Throughout World War II, the battleship was painted in a total of five different camouflages — designs meant not to conceal, but to deceive.
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The idea first originated in World War I. By 1917, the British navy was at the mercy of German U-boats, losing multiple vessels a day. Enter Norman Wilkinson, a sailor in the volunteer reserve who also happened to be an artist. He recognized the futility of trying to hide a large ship with camouflage. But what if you could paint it in a way that made it harder for the submariner launching torpedoes to figure out your range, speed, and direction? The British Admiralty named his invention “dazzle” camouflage.
“The different paint schemes cut up the ship’s silhouette,” says Jeff Bockert, east region supervisor for the Division of State Historic Sites and former associate curator for the Battleship North Carolina. “It made it harder for the submarine to get a fix on the ship and fire at it.” During World War II, the U.S. Navy expanded upon the concept, coming up with its own design variations.
The ship rode out the war without further battle damage, testifying to the power of the paintbrush.
The most radical razzle dazzle applied to the USS North Carolina, called “Measure 32,” was added in 1943 while it was berthed at Pearl Harbor. Suddenly, the port and starboard sides of the battleship — and other fighting ships across the fleet — were transformed from blank canvases into Cubist paintings that would make Picasso proud. The strong, angular lines and vivid, contrasting colors of navy blue, deck blue, haze gray, pale gray, and black were striking — and, if the mighty North Carolina was any indication, effective. It rode out the war without further battle damage, testifying to the power of the paintbrush.
Why was the battleship repainted in Measure 32 in 1995? The reason has been lost to time. But Gower wholeheartedly agrees with the decision. “She’s really showing off,” he says. “You just don’t see a lot of camouflage on other historic ships.”
He’s right: Across the country, a fleet of World War II ships still serve — either on permanent display or as museums — but only a handful wear razzle dazzle camouflage. “I can only think of four other ships that have similar periods of interpretation and camouflage schemes,” says Ryan Szimanski, executive director of the Historic Naval Ships Association.
According to Szimanski, the USS Slater, a destroyer escort based in New York, is the only one of the three painted in Measure 32. And since the scheme varies based on the class of ship, the North Carolina’s paint job is just what you’d expect for a battleship of such stature: one-of-a-kind.
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These days, Gower is toying with the idea of teaming up with a fellow builder to construct his first model of the North Carolina at its jazziest. His only hesitation is the headache he knows is waiting when it comes to painting a 1/350 scale ship in Measure 32’s dizzying variety of geometric patterns. “You’re talking about a very precise and tedious job that takes a lot of patience and several glasses of wine to get it right,” Gower says with a laugh.
Of course, keeping the paint scheme shipshape on the real thing is no small task either. “I joke with our painter that he’s got the best job security in the world,” says Chris Vargo, assistant director of the Battleship North Carolina. While it was completely repainted by a contractor in 2009, the ship relies on a full-time staff painter who focuses almost exclusively on the maintenance of its razzle dazzle camouflage. That job requires hundreds of gallons of paint, year in and year out. It also requires constant vigilance.
Today, the Battleship North Carolina wears a modified version of the “Measure 32” paint scheme that was chosen for it in 1943, featuring shades of navy blue, deck blue, haze gray, pale gray, and black. Photography courtesy of BATTLESHIP NORTH CAROLINA
“The only thing standing between 99 million pounds of steel and the environment is paint,” Vargo says. “Our painter has painted the entire port side of the ship over the last few years. Now he’s moving over to the starboard side.”
Vargo believes that the best way to view the camouflage paint scheme is from the 10-foot-wide platform that circles the ship. “You just can’t beat the view,” he says. “It’s just awesome to see the ship dressed up like that.”
It’s also possible to get an up-close look at the North Carolina’s camouflage by taking a scenic cruise along the Cape Fear River. “I don’t care if you’ve done the trip 100 times,” says Capt. Doug Springer, co-owner of Wilmington Water Tours. “You’re always humbled when you cruise past her.”
For that, we can credit those who chose to repaint the ship in Measure 32 in 1995. Given the size of their canvas, it was a masterstroke in more ways than one.
Battleship North Carolina
1 Battleship Road
Wilmington, NC 28401
(910) 399-9100
battleshipnc.com
If you’re interested in taking a deeper dive into other aspects of the Battleship North Carolina’s hidden history, longtime curator Mary Ames Booker has just the tour for you. “Hidden Battleship” pokes into many of the mysterious areas of the ship not seen on regular tours. Four times a year, guides lead small groups through the ship, top to bottom — from a visit high up on the forward superstructure to belowdecks explorations of places like Engine Room No. 1. “It’s a lot of bang for your buck,” Booker says — an apt expression indeed for a battleship that once lobbed one-ton shells.
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