Why Military Ships are Gray and Icebreakers Red?

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There is much more to the color of military ships than meets the eye. Yes, it has to do with visibility, but it's #NotWhatYouThink #NWYT #longs

Music:
Principal's Office - Stationary Sign
Scream Male 56 - SFX Producer
Hemisphere - Ooyy
March Towards the End - Bonnie Grace
Old Town Calypso - John Runefelt
Sidelined - Dip Diet
Up in Trouble - Mike Franklyn
Still Water Flows - Claude Signet
Stegosaurus - Margareta
Man and Beast - Edward Karl Hanson
Tumbleweed - Tigerblood Jewel
Coffee in Hyde Park - Blue Topaz

Footage:
Shutterstock
Videoblocks
National Archives
Creative Commons:
Comelite Design Studio
Canadian Heroes
AFK
Keith Chesworth
Robb Zeb Watterson
Laura Miller

US Department of Defense

Note: "The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement."

[jimsvideos]

Also, when was the last time you heard of a zebra being hit by a German torpedo? Exactly.

[prxZen]

Just a friendly tip/warning: The procedure of submerging a ship to hide it, is in many cases considered single-use technology.

[judahboyd]

After leaving Pearl Harbor, the crew of the USS Seadragon discovered that the black paint was pealing away to reveal the red lead primer underneath in scale like patches. The submarine tender she was docked next to had been hit with a bomb and the heat of the fire had burned off Seadragon's paint. The crew rechristened her "The red dragon" and went on to have a successful patrol, earning enough of a reputation to be mentioned by the Tokyo Rose who complained of "Red pirate submarines". Records don't directly mention the red paint causing any problems with being spotted, but I think I remember reading that they ran deeper than normal just in case.
The red dragon's legacy lived on in the cold war era nuclear sub USS Seadragon, whose crew patch at one time displayed a red scaled dragon grasping a torpedo.

[AsbestosMuffins]

the red paint under the hull has some agent to it that prevents aquatic life from latching onto it, its red typically for tradition since its not the old tin-based paint it used to be.

[The_Professor_]

These zig-zag patterns were mainly to fool optical ranging systems which relied on a human operator overlaying two images to range a target. These patterns also helped disguise a ship from identification; making it much harder to identify the length of the ship, the depth in the water, number of towers, etc. In modern times with laser range finding and advanced radar there is no longer a need for this pattern on ships.

[BigStrap]

This is one of the most consistently entertaining and informative channels on YouTube. You should be very proud.

[neversinkmakes]

Having almost sailed right by two Swedish military ships that were tied up alongside an island in the Stockholm archipelago (not a harbor or even a dock, just tied up to the rock), I can attest to the effectiveness of their camouflage. These ships were covered with additional camouflage nets but it was absolutely stunning how well it worked—we gasped when we noticed them straight off our starboard side probably less than 200 feet away. We could easily have missed them altogether.

[KRawatXP]

Incebreakers bought the premium pass so they got sick red skin.

[Devon]

So glad to see the RCN getting some love. Didn't know that we were early testers of that light based camo. Really cool

[John_Be]

Bravo! Great story, and even greater humor. You're writers need a high five✋ for this script.

[westrim]

15:46 I've never seen anything as Canadian as that painting on the back of the gun.

[tamaslapsanszki]

Ok, if I ever go to war in a navy, I want my ship to be freaking pink to surprise, confuse and scare the crap out of the enemy. By the time they stop wondering why they see a pink ship, my antiship SSMs will be already on their way

[busch]

Did you know that Norwegian warships have QR code’s on the bows? It’s so when they return from patrol they can…Scandinavian

[kylosalvesen]

Me, trying to get a range estimate on a zebra through my periscope: Scheiße

[rprince]

As an American, I will shamefully admit we love Canadian maple syrup.
Also, I was totally expecting you to do like on the submarine black/cruise ship white video and spend only five seconds on the red icebreakers.

[benton]

The lone patrol got jumped by a whole bunch of dude with ghillies was the funniest thing I saw all day yet 1:18. LOL

[BluBird]

Idk, I don't think any camo/paint will outdo that destroyer in ww2 that looked like an island to escape japanese waters

[somaday]

Up until around 15 years ago, haze gray was the standard paint for superstructure coating over primed steel. One of the specs was MIL-PRF-2463B Type II Class 2 Enamel, color standard Fed std 595B #26270. This is an anti-static silicone alkyd marine paint whose reflective properties were promoted for lowering HVAC cooling requirements more that for reducing the ship's IR signature. The silicone increased the paint's surface hardness and uV resistance and thus overall life. Application was similar to standard alkyd enamel paint.

This has been replaced by haze gray epoxy siloxane block copolymer coating/ paint for its effectiveness against salt corrosion.

Off the radar of Not What You Think's camouflage motif topic, but still on naval coatings, is bilge tanks coatings. One coating system uses an 18 mil dry thickness epoxy primer with a fluorescent additive. This is topped with another coat of epoxy paint, and followed by inspection using a uV lamp to reveal pinholes. Any pinholes are covered by additional paint. This has extended the protective coating by years.

[eustache_dauger]

What about the yellow submarine though?

[kevinhaynes]

My favourite camouflage story is that of HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen, which was disguised as a tropical island to escape the Japanese occupation of Surabaya in 1941. It survived the war, and is now a museum ship located in Den Helder. It's well worth a visit... if you can find it...!!!