Italian Naval Camouflage of World War II

This is a major new study of Italian naval camouflage schemes developed and used during World War II. When Italy entered the War in June 1940, the Regia Marina (Italian navy) was a force still under development and both Italian warships and merchant ships started the war in their peacetime colors, although prewar plans had been made for camouflaging ships.

At that time, all the principal warships were painted in a light matte grey ("grigio cenerino chiaro"), that was adopted in the 1920s an...