Camouflage schemes were applied to a number of U-boats. Though it was not common, camouflage had been used in the U-boat fleet before the outbreak of war (U 25, U 33 and U 40 are three such examples). Though the use of camouflage gradually diminished during 1943, when U-boats were forced to spend most of a patrol submerged, a few still sported schemes in 1944.

Often this camouflage would consist of dark grey stripes, bands, patches, lines or jagged splotches over a lighter grey. Sometimes the camouflage would extend over the whole of the upper hull and conning tower, whereas in other cases the camouflage was limited to the conning tower only. Though feathered edges were used in the sprayed-on wavy striped camouflage schemes, it was much more usual for hard edges and straight lines to be used. Below is a list of the assorted styles of camouflage schemes that were seen upon U-boats of differing types. All schemes, other than those specified, had hard edges.

U 9
May 1943 - Middle section of hull plus lower area of tower dark grey; other areas light grey; edges feathered

U 25
Late 1939 - Zig-zags on tower, plus shark’s mouth

U 40
September 1939 - Splinter scheme of small triangles on tower

U 81
13th Nov. 1941 (sinking of HMS Ark Royal) - Squiggly lines on upper hull; two dark areas with jagged lines at top on port side of tower; weird shape on starboard side of tower
28th July 1943 - Triangle on tower, triangular-shaped lines (plus one round shape near bow) on hull

U 82
Late 1941 - 22 wavy feather-edged stripes on port side; 23 on starboard side

U 83
February 1942 - Mediterranean jagged splotches over tower and upper hull

U 119
Early 1943 - False silhouette deceptive camouflage

U 123
Sometime in 1941 - Assorted jagged shapes on tower, none on hull
June 23rd 1941 - Wavy stripes sprayed on with very feathered edges
Christmas 1941 - No camouflage

U 141
Sometime in 1941 - 8 straight feather-edged stripes on starboard side and tower; unknown number on port side

U 160
19th April 1943 - One line on tower, irregular shapes on upper hull

U 183
Summer 1944 - Three wide bands per side, plus one on either side of tower

U 201
8th June 1941 - 14 wavy feather-edged stripes on port side; 13 on starboard side
21st May 1942 - Similar but not identical to June 1941 pattern

U 204
Spring 1941 - Diamond on either side of tower, plus V at front of tower; some areas of upper hull also camouflaged

U 253
April/May 1942 - 3 irregular-shaped areas with sharp edges in RAL7016

U 453
1943 or 1944 - Inverted V on tower with patches on upper hull

U 556
30th May 1941 - 5 slightly wavy, feather-edged stripes of variable width on starboard side; unknown number on port side

U 561
5th September 1942 - Wide dark band on tower

U 596
1942 or 1943 - Mediterranean jagged splotches over tower and upper hull

U 711
30th July 1944 - One thin, very dark wavy line on tower, plus two similar lines on upper hull, over white or light grey

Standard camouflage schemes could be found in some theatres of operations. The schemes found on some Atlantic U-boats were often dazzle-type schemes, which used wide stripes to disrupt visual rangefinding. A few Atlantic boats sported the attractive wavy striped camouflage scheme. The Type IIs serving in the Black Sea often had the lower half of their conning towers, and a middle section of their upper hull, painted in a dark grey. The edges on this scheme were sometimes feathered, and sometimes hard-edged.

In the Mediterranean, the theatre where camouflage was most commonly found, a pattern of dark grey jagged splotches applied at regular intervals over the upper hull and conning tower was commonly used. Sometimes, as on U 453, there were patches with hard edges rather than jagged splotches. As the waters of the Mediterranean are much clearer than the Atlantic, U-boats could be seen from the air at a greater depth. A U-boat at periscope depth could be clearly seen from the air in daylight, so the pattern of dark splotches or patches was intended to break up the U-boat’s shape sufficiently to prevent detection from the air.

False bow and stern deceptive camouflage was used on several Kriegsmarine battleships. The “Baltic scheme” included a false bow and stern wave painted in white, and the dark grey Dunkelgrau 52 on the hull at the bow and the stern. The latter was intended to fool the enemy into thinking that a vessel was shorted than it actually was. Such was the intention of the deceptive camouflage on the large Type XB U-boat U 119. A false silhouette was painted in dark grey upon the Hellgrau 50 hull.

Camouflage colours

It is exceptionally difficult to tell what colour was sprayed on over the light grey Hellgrau 50 or medium blue-grey Dunkelgrau 51 in the wavy striped camouflage schemes. The three most likely candidates would be Schlickgrau 58, Dunkelgrau 52 and Dunkelgrau 53. The 3-part decal sheet by U.L.A.D.-decal for the Revell 1/72nd Type VIIC U-boat kit suggests Dunkelgrau 52 for U 201 and Dunkelgrau 53 for U 82. However, on both these boats there is quite a contrast between the lower anti-fouling dark grey and the darker camouflage grey. This suggests to me that Schlickgrau 58 (which was lighter than Dunkelgrau 52) was used on these boats. As Schlickgrau 58 was slightly greenish, this accords with some reports (unfortunately of unknown origin) which state that green was used in U-boat camouflage schemes.

Sometimes the dark grey RAL7016 was extended up over areas of the hull and the tower, as was the case on U 81, U 253 and the Type IXC U 163. The question of whether this was the anti-fouling Schiffsbodenfarbe III Grau or Dunkelgrau 53 is irrelevant for modellers as both were RAL7016.