Japanese Ships – Colors & Camouflage

[Kull]

LB Types (Barges):

4) 17m Type L Daihatsu: There are 45 in total and the first 3 become available 2/14/42. A single bmp file (0161.bmp), not shared. One database entry (12/41). No upgrades or conversions.

Colors & Profile: Although several of the new shipsides feature naval bluish-grey colors, the REAL Navy Type A had a very different profile, which this class will start with (#1). It's likely that most of these were used in the previously discussed "ship-to-shore" role, but probably some number of them participated in AE-type barge missions (#2). Since that would have been an early war role (we don't see any of this type in the many Solomons-New Guinea barge photos), we'll phase them out in late 1942. Fortunately this is yet another instance where CHS provides a nice model to start from, although it needs a few modifications.

As with the previous set of barges, once again the transition will be to a different class of Daihatsu, the "Type C" AB-tei armored boats (#3). Although it's perhaps a bit questionable to use these small gunboats as barge replacements, they were developed specifically for the purpose of escorting and supporting Daihatsus, had troop carrying capacity, and the ONI classified them in the landing craft category. In addition, they were first built in 1927 and served throughout the war in a wide range of theatres (for example, at least one surrendered in New Guinea in 1945 - see #4), so we're at liberty to insert them in-game at any time. (For those interested, some of the best information on these boats is available at (ironically) another gaming forum). Anyway, for our purposes they will come into play during late 1942 (greyish in color, as per all the photos), acquire some rust after a few months, and will stay in game until the end of 1943.

At that point we'll shift to yet another class, the "Type G" landing craft (#5), or as it's otherwise known, the "sampan". Throughout the war, the Japanese used these small boats for a variety of purposes, but later in the conflict - as the Allies arrived in the Philippines and approached the Home Islands - many of them were pressed into service as barge alternatives. Among other things, they are more seaworthy than the blunt-prowed barges, although the frequent late-war encounters with US subs were rather one-sided affairs (#6). The shipsides are wood-colored, and they'll stay in use until the end of the war.

Armament: The 17m Type L has three 25mm AA guns, the most of any barge class. That's one reason why these Daihatsu types were selected for this class - they have the most weapons of any boats in the Daihatsu group (well, maybe not the sampans). Although the existing shipside has most of these, the new profiles require alternate placement.

And so, on to the foldered plan (for comparison purposes, #7 is the current AE shipside):

12/6/41 = CHS shipside modified and recolored bluish-grey (#8)
8/1942 = Switch to greyish "Type C" AB-tei (#9)
3/1943 = Transition to rusty-greyish "Type C" (#10)
1/1944 = Change to wooden "Type G" Sampan (#11)

This completes the Barge Types - hopefully all the new shapes and colors will add some historical pizzazz to what was otherwise a fairly boring set of boats! Next up are the Tankers and Oilers, at least some of which should be rather interesting.

[Kull]

TK-AO Types:

This is the 6th of 13 TK Types, the other 5 having been reviewed earlier since they share bmps with their associated xAK or xAKL types:

1) Std-AT TK: See Post #73
2) Std-BT TK: See Post #74
3) Std-CT TK: See Post #76
4) Std-DT TK: See Post #77
5) Std-ETd TK: See Post #84

6) Tonan Whaler (TK): Five ships in this class, all in-game on 12/41. A single bmp file (0099.bmp), not shared. One database entry (12/41). No upgrades or conversions. 1 of 5 has photo evidence of "dazzle" camo.

Of this class, Tonan Maru #3 (see item #1 in the attachment) is famous for her involvement in the most egregious example of Mark 14 torpedo failure. "On 23 July 1943, the USS Tinosa, an American submarine on war patrol in the Pacific, spent the entire day trying to sink the Tonan Maru, a high-value, unprotected Japanese oil tanker. The Tinosa fired fifteen torpedoes and the net result was that twelve torpedoes hit the target but only one of them exploded. The Japanese ship eventually escaped and when the Tinosa returned to headquarters at Pearl Harbor, the commander of Pacific Fleet submarines describes the young skipper as still being almost speechless with rage."

As the class name implies, these were large pre-war whaling factory vessels which were converted to "oil transport ships" between late '41 and early '42. To give you some idea of their pre-conversion capacity, Nisshin Maru killed and processed over 1000 whales (including 800+ blue whales) during a 4 month expedition in 1936. Motoyuki has modeled two of this class, the first being Tonan Maru #3 (pictured "about 1942" in wartime grey - see #2) while the second is Kyokuyo Maru shown with her extremely unusual 1943 Dazzle Camo (#3).

For colors, it appears that some were painted warship grey right from the start, but others were pressed into service immediately and probably retained their commercial colors for several months. The Kyokuyo Maru TROM at combinedfleet has nothing to say about dazzle (or any sort of painting), but does tell us she spent six months undergoing repairs at Singapore starting in January 1943, so that's the most likely time and place for camo application. Accordingly, we're looking at a series of color changes: Start with the commercial look seen in the first photo (using a modified DMP shipside), shift to greyish (the existing shipside works fine) in early '42, transition to Dazzle in early '43 (although only 1 of 5 has photo evidence, it's a unique look that's well worth putting in-game), return to grey in early 44' (but this time a greyish-grey as per the photos of Tonan Maru #3 at Truk during Operation Hailstone - see #4), and then finish up with merchant green camo in late '44. That's a lot of shipsides, but then these are valuable high capacity fuel transport vessels, of critical importance to the Japanese economy! Other than colors, the profile looks fine and requires little alteration.

Armament: The database specifies front & rear Type 89 AA guns and both Type 88 DP and 13mm AA at R&L. The existing shipside has none of that while both models show only the forward gun, so changes are necessary. There is room at the stern for an additional weapon, but the absence of evidence (along with superstructure obstruction) makes it hard to determine where to put the others so we'll leave them off (no effect on the database, of course).

Accordingly, here's the foldered plan (for comparison purposes, #5 is the current AE shipside):

12/6/41 = The black & white commercial colors & no armament 0099.bmp file (#6)
2/1942 = Use the existing shipside (with armament) (#7)
1/1943 = Shift to Dazzle (#8)
1/1944 = Change to greyish-grey (#9)
9/1944 = Switch to "merchant green" camo (#10)

[Kull]

TK-AO Types:

7) Type N TL Type (2 classes):

Of the pre-war Tankers, these ships had the largest carrying capacity (12.8K) along with good speed (19-15 kts). They are also relatively few in number and cannot be replaced, making them quite valuable. As an aside most of the AE TK and AO class names include a 2-letter acronym:
TL = Tanker Large
TM = Tanker Medium
TS = Tanker Small

Motoyuki has 5 models for this class, of which the Nippon Maru (see #1) is a good example. Worth noting that while none of the models feature late war green camo, all but one of them were sunk before it was promulgated.

- Type-N TL (TK): 8 ships in this class. A single bmp file (0322.bmp), shared with Type-N TL AO class (4 ships). One database entry (12/41). No upgrades, but it can convert to the AO class on 12/41 (the conversion is "one way" - once a TK converts to AO, it can't come back). No evidence of early war camo.

- Type-N TL AO: Four ships in this class. A single bmp file (0322.bmp), shared with Type-N TL TK class (8 ships). One database entry (12/41). No upgrades or conversions. No evidence of early war camo.

Colors & Profile: The existing shipside matches the photos and models pretty well, but needs a few small tweaks. The front and rear gun platforms are pedestal mounts, all the models feature a large spotlight atop the rear of the forward superstructure, and the lifeboats need better delineation. For colors the existing shipside is fine at the start (a blue-green grey), but we'll transition to a greyish grey in early 1943 and then to merchant green camo in mid-1944.

Armament: The database specifies front & rear Type 88 DP guns and 13mm AA at R&L. The existing shipside has the DP guns, along with a rear-mounted naval gun (the latter will have to be removed as it's not in the database). None of the models or photos show the smaller AA guns, but they would probably be placed atop the bridge as per this model of the Type 1 TL tanker, Omenisan Maru (#2). The AO has additional 25mm AA, but it uses the same bmp file and there's no way to differentiate the two (so they won't be added).

Which brings us to the foldered plan (for comparison purposes, #3 is the current AE shipside):

12/6/41 = The original 0322.bmp file modified as noted above (#4)
1/1943 = Change to greyish grey (and add AA) (#5)
7/1944 = Shift to "merchant green" camo (#6)

[Kull]

TK-AO Types:

8) Type 1&2 TL Type (3 classes):

There are 3 classes (TK and AO) which share this bmp file. Although the profiles are fairly similar (more on that below), the big difference is the Type-1 has greater speed (18-14 kts) than the Type-2 (14-12 kts), although the carrying capacities are similar (11.6K vs 10.8K). Unlike the Type-N, most of these ships arrive after the war begins, with Type-1 being an early war model, and the Type-2 appearing in 1944 and later.

Motoyuki has 14 models for this class, of which the Kyokuto Maru (see #1) is a good example of the early war Type-1 ships while Saban Maru (#2) has the late war green camo and Type-2 shape.

- Type-1 TL TK: 31 ships in this class. A single bmp file (0323.bmp), shared with Type-1 TL AO class (3 ships) and Type-2 TL TK (29 ships). One database entry (12/41). No upgrades, but it can convert to the AO class on 12/41 (the conversion is "one way" - once a TK converts to AO, it can't come back). No evidence of early war camo.

- Type-1 TL AO: Three ships in this class. A single bmp file (0323.bmp), shared with Type-1 TL TK class (has 8 ships at the start and gains 23 more) and Type-2 TL TK (29 ships). No evidence of early war camo.

- Type-2 TL TK: 29 ships in this class. A single bmp file (0323.bmp), shared with Type-1 TL AO class (3 ships) and Type-1 TL TK (31 ships). One database entry (9/43). No evidence of early war camo. The first ship of this class arrives 1/44.

Colors & Profile: Although the basic "tanker-shape" is universal among these vessels (see #3 for some of the more common items and terminology), the ONI Report (#4) along with the models and photos show quite a few variances, even within the same class:
- AOs have the tripod fueling assemblies at the rear, but TKs do not (#1)
- Most (but not all) of the Type-1 vessels have pipelines and raised walkways above both front and rear decks (#1)
- Most (but not all) of the Type-2 vessels have pipelines and raised walkways only above the rear deck (#2)
- Some of the ships have the funnel mounted toward the middle of the aft superstructure (#2) but most have it located further to the rear (as with the Type-N)
- In addition there are a host of smaller differences involving the shape of the bridge, number and location of masts, angle of bow, etc.

It's impossible to account for all that in a shared bmp file, but we can develop a shipside that is "mostly Type-1" for the opening phase of the war, and then transition to the "mostly Type-2" shape much later on (since none of the latter arrive until 1944). For colors we'll use the Type-N approach; the existing shipside at the start (a blue-green grey), then greyish grey in early 1943, and finally merchant green camo in mid-1944.

Armament: The database specifies a different weapons layout for each of the three classes. The lowest common denominator is the Type-1 TL with front & rear Type 88 DP guns and 13mm AA at R&L, so we'll use this for all of them. The existing shipside has the DP guns, while several of the models show the AA atop the bridge (we'll add this with the first color change, same as the Type-N).

Taking all that into account, here's the foldered plan (for comparison purposes, #5 is the current AE shipside):

12/6/41 = The original 0323.bmp file with various modifications (#6)
2/1943 = Shift to greyish grey (and add AA) (#7)
8/1944 = Switch to "merchant green" camo and Type-2 profile (#8)

[Kull]

TK-AO Types:

9) Manzyu TM Type (2 classes):

A mid-size size group of pre-war Tankers (as indicated by the "TM" acronym), these ships have low speed (14-11 kts) but medium carrying capacity (TK=7.9K, AO=6.8K). As with the Type-N (although significantly less important), they are few in number and cannot be replaced. Two classes (TK and AO) share a single bmp file. Motoyuki has 1 model for this class, the San Diego Maru (see #1) which features the late war green camo.

- Manzyu TM TK: 13 ships in this class. A single bmp file (0324.bmp), shared with Manzyu TM AO class (0 ships). One database entry (12/41). No upgrades, but it can convert to the AO class on 12/41 (the conversion is "one way" - once a TK converts to AO, it can't come back). No evidence of early war camo.

- Manzyu TM AO: Zero ships in this class. A single bmp file (0324.bmp), shared with Manzyu TM TK class (13 ships) from which it can convert. No evidence of early war camo.

Colors & Profile: The existing shipside works pretty well, but needs a bluff bow, fewer masts, and some other tweaks. For colors the current blue-green grey is fine at the start, but we'll transition to a greyish grey in early 1943 and then to merchant green camo in mid-1944.

Armament: The database specifies front & rear Type 88 DP guns and 13mm AA at R&L. The existing shipside has a rear-mounted DP gun, but nothing else, so the others are needed. As with the Type-N, the AO class has additional 25mm AA which can't be added since both classes share the same bmp file.

Here's the foldered plan (for comparison purposes, #2 is the current AE shipside):

12/6/41 = The original 0324.bmp file with various modifications (#3)
3/1943 = Change to greyish grey (and add AA) (#4)
9/1944 = Switch to "merchant green" camo (#5)

[Kull]

TK-AO Types:

10) Type-1 TM Type (2 classes):

A mid-size group of Tankers (as indicated by the "TM" acronym), all of which were built after the war began. These ships have medium level speed (14-11 kts) and carrying capacity (TK=8.2K, AO=7.3K). Motoyuki has 3 models for this class, of which the Yuho Maru (see #1) is a good example of the mid-war ships while Ryoei Maru (#2) has the late war green camo.

- Type-1 TM TK: 30 ships in this class. A single bmp file (0325.bmp), shared with Type-1 TM AO class (0 ships). One database entry (2/42). No upgrades, but it can convert to the AO class on 6/42 (the conversion is "one way" - once a TK converts to AO, it can't come back). The first ship of this class arrives 4/42. No evidence of early war camo.

- Type-1 TM AO: Zero ships in this class. A single bmp file (0325.bmp), shared with Type-1 TM TK class (30 ships) from which it can convert. No evidence of early war camo.

Colors & Profile: Most of the models, pictures, and the ONI profile (#3) provide a strong indication that the existing shipside is incorrect. The raised pipelines & walkways need to be removed from the forward weather deck, while the funnel should move further to the rear. As with most other tanker classes, the existing shipside color is fine at the start (a blue-green grey), but we'll shift to a greyish-grey in early 194, to merchant green camo in mid-1944, and finally a rusty green in 1945.

Armament: Per the database, each class has front & rear Type 88 DP guns and both 13mm and 25mm AA at R&L. The existing shipside has the DP weapons, but not the AA. Both models show the AA in the usual place atop the bridge, but also in tubs positioned at the fore part of the after superstructure. We'll add these with the first color change.

Which brings us to the foldered plan (for comparison purposes, #4 is the current AE shipside):

12/6/41 = The revised 0325.bmp file (#5)
4/1943 = Switch to greyish grey (and add AA) (#6)
10/1944 = Change to "merchant green" camo (#7)
3/1945 = Shift to "rusty green" (#8)

[Kull]

TK-AO Types:

11) Type-1 TS Type (2 classes):

A small-size set of Tankers (as indicated by the "TS" acronym). Oddly enough, the TSd class is not present in any of the standard scenarios (nor DaBabes). Presumably the devs felt that further subdividing the role of "small Tanker" was unnecessary. Even the January 1945 ONI report (see #1) reflects a high degree of uncertainty about these vessels: "There is a strong possibility, therefore, that the designation TS belongs to a design at present unidentified and of which few were produced." Anyway, Motoyuki has 1 model which is probably of this class, the Soei Maru (#2) which features the late war green camo.

- Type-1 TS TK: 31 ships in this class, all present at the start. A single bmp file (0326.bmp), shared with Type-1 TSd TK class (0 ships). One database entry (12/41) and no upgrades or conversions. No evidence of early war camo.

- Type-1 TSd TK: Zero ships in this class. A single bmp file (0326.bmp), shared with Type-1 TS TK class (0 ships). One database entry (12/41) and no upgrades or conversions. No evidence of early war camo.

Colors & Profile: The ONI report and the model differ from the existing shipside in several ways (raised pipeline location, funnel position, number of masts, etc), so those changes will be made. As for colors, we'll start with the existing blue/green-grey and then shift to merchant green camo in late 1944.

Armament: Per the database, both classes have a forward weapons platform (Type 88 DP for the TS class and 25mm AA for the TSd class) and both have 13mm AA at R&L (being adjacent to the bridge, the latter is effectively invisible). The existing shipside has a single stern-mounted weapon, so we'll need to move that to the stem.

Here's the foldered plan (for comparison purposes, #3 is the current AE shipside):

12/6/41 = The revised 0326.bmp file (#4)
11/1944 = Change to "merchant green" camo (#5)

Note: While there are 13 TK types overall, all were reviewed in only 11 posts because there are two TK classes in #8 and two more here in #11. Which means we're now finished with the TKs. Next up, the AO types!

[Kull]

TK-AO Types:

This is the 5th of 7 AO Types, the other 4 having been reviewed earlier since they share bmps with their associated TK types:

1) Type-N TL AO: See Post #143
2) Type-1 TL AO: See Post #144
3) Manzyu TM AO: See Post #145
4) Type-1 TM AO: See Post #146

5) Sunosaki AO: Two ships in this class. A single bmp file (0097.bmp), not shared. First ship arrives in Oct 1943 (2nd on Jan 44). Two database entries (9/43 and 9/44) and no conversions. No evidence of camo.

From combinedfleet.com: "The IJN completed two types of aviation gasoline tankers, the SUNOSAKI and ASHIZURI-classes consisting of four ships in total. The ships were planned in the 1939 and 1940 constuction programs. Each ship was to provide underway replenishment for two fleet aircraft carriers with gasoline, ammunition, food, supplies and aircraft repair/parts shop. The SUNOSAKIs were fitted with a heavy-lift crane aft of the mainmast for handling spare aircraft engines.

Sunosaki was the lead ship of her two-ship class that included Takasaki. Three other ships of the class were cancelled before they were laid down. Sunosaki and Takasaki were completed in 1943, but by then they were needed to transfer fuel from the East Indies to Japan. Both were sunk by American forces in 1944."

Colors & Profile: The existing shipside is a very close match with the photos and line drawings (see #1), but will require a few armament changes (discussed below). Since these were specially constructed naval support vessels, the colors should begin with navalized bluish-grey, transitioning to a greyish grey in mid-1944 (the timing will match that of the upgrade), and ultimately getting quite rusty in 1945.

Armament: The database calls for front & rear 12 cm DP guns and 13mm AA at R&L. The existing bmp file has the DP guns, while the AA is invisible at this scale. The shipside does include a central weapons platform but that is really a late war modification - a close examination of the photo and as-built drawing reveals that it should start off as a spotlight (although we'll add it back as the 25mm AA platform during the 1944 upgrade. At which point it also needs Type 21 air-search radar. Although not visible in any photos, this is the large "bed spring" type which is typically mounted above the bridge, so that's where we'll place it.

Accordingly, here's the foldered plan (for comparison purposes, #2 is the current AE shipside):

12/6/41 = The revised bluish-grey 0097.bmp file (#3)
9/1944 = Change to greyish grey (and add AA & radar) (#4)
4/1945 = Shift to rusty brownish-grey (#5)

[Kull]

TK-AO Types:

6) Ashizuri AO: Two ships in this class. A single bmp file (0096.bmp), not shared. First ship arrives in Feb 1943 (2nd in December). Two database entries (1/43 and 3/44) and no conversions. No evidence of camo.

From combinedfleet.com: "Ashizuri (see #1) was the lead ship of a two-ship class that included Shioya (#2). The ASHIZURIs were larger than the SUNOSAKIs and were also designed to provide underway resupply of carrier groups with aviation gasoline, bombs, torpedoes and other supplies. Both Ashizuri and Shioya were completed in 1943 and sunk by American submarines in 1944."

http://www.combinedfleet.com/Ashizuri_c.htm

Colors & Profile: As with the Sunosaki class, the existing shipside is very similar to the photos and models, but will require a few small changes (such as double booms for the rear mast) and a few others that are discussed below. These too were specially constructed naval support vessels, so the colors should begin with navalized bluish-grey, transitioning to a greyish grey in early 1944 (the timing will match that of the upgrade). To help differentiate them from the similar Sunosaki-class, we'll forgo the rust.

Armament: The database calls for front & rear 12.7 cm DP guns and both 25mm (#3-A) and 13mm (#3-B) AA at R&L, all in place right from the start. The existing bmp file has the DP guns and the 25mm, while the 13mm AA is obscured by it's location adjacent to the superstructure. We need to add a spotlight amidships and (as part of the 1944 upgrade) a Type 21 air-search radar mounted above the bridge.

Which brings us to the foldered plan (for comparison purposes, #4 is the current AE shipside):

12/6/41 = The revised bluish-grey 0096.bmp file (#5)
3/1944 = Switch to greyish grey (and add radar) (#6)

[Kull]

TK-AO Types:

7) Shiretoko AO: 12 ships in this class (2 arrive in 1944). A single bmp file (0098.bmp), not shared. Three database entries (12/41, 9/42, & 3/44), and no conversions. Two of the starting 10 have photo evidence of "zebra" camo.

It's kind of appropriate that we finish off the "Category III" reviews with this class, since way back in Post #3, I talked about types of ship camouflage which the US Naval Technical Mission report (pg 7) called "conspicuously bad examples" that were "often traced to independent action on the part of individuals not qualified to plan camouflage."

And promptly posted a pic of AO Iro wearing her unusual zebra camo (see #1). Little did I know then, but another ship of this class, Hayatomo (incorrectly named "Hayamoto" in the AE database) had a different sort of white line camo that was, if anything, even stranger and more inexplicable (#2). Neither TROM gives a date for when this camo was applied, and the only clues come from photo captions: "IRO in warime camouflage scheme" and "Imperial Japanese Navy oiler Hayatomo on 26 December 1942, Seletar, Singapore"

It turns out the idea of "zebra camo" was far from unusual, and originated as one of many "razzle dazzle" WW1 ship camouflage patterns. Accordingly it's quite possible that both of these oilers had camo applied even before the war began, and absent anything definitive that's what we'll do here. Admittedly we only have camo evidence for 2 vessels in this class, but that equals the "1 in 5" ratio we've used as a baseline for camo yes-no decisions with other ship classes. As an aside, zebra camo was also used by some Allied ships in WW2 such as the French light cruiser Gloire (#3) and US PT-170 (#4).

But it doesn't end here. The USNTM report also tells us that Iro (incorrectly referred to as "Ishiro") was repainted in an experimental new camo pattern which (as per the drawing in the report - see #5) was almost certainly the precursor design for merchant green camouflage. The TROM expands on that, and in so doing confirms that the "dazzle" pattern was still in use:

"30 November 1943:
Dry docked (at Kure). While undergoing repairs, an experimental camouflage is painted on replacing the dazzle camouflage previously adopted. The new camouflage consists of dark grey overall, except for bow and stern that are painted light grey to give the impression of a smaller, faster oiler with raked bow and cruiser stern. The camouflage is deemed successful, but is not duplicated elsewhere."

The USNTM report expands on that: "The camouflage, designed to be seen from abeam to be effective, was a special case and was believed to have been left unchanged when the order for using the Number Two color system was issued." Utilizing this historically important camo scheme is clearly called for, but since it was not applied to any other ships in this class, we'll go ahead and shift them all over to merchant green camo in mid-1944.

As for the profile, Motoyuki has modeled a few ships in this class, of which Tsurumi (#6) is the best representative. For the most part it matches the existing shipside quite well, although we'll need to make a few minor changes.

Armament: The database says that front & rear Type 88 DP guns and 13mm AA at R&L were in place at the start, with 25mm AA (F&R) added during the 9/42 upgrade, and lastly additional 25mm at R&L along with Type 21 radar arriving in 3/44. Other than the Type 88s, none of this appears in photos or models, so we'll just assume that the early AA weapons were obscured by other structural elements, but will add the 9/44 items atop the bridge.

Taking all that into account, here's the foldered plan (for comparison purposes, #7 is the current AE shipside):

12/6/41 = The "zebra camo" 0098.bmp file (#8)
11/1943 = Shift to the experimental 2-tone grey camo (#9)
9/1944 = Switch to "merchant green" camo and add AA & Radar (#10)


This completes all the ships in Category III! In Post #100, I laid out a "first release" plan, which included all vessels in Categories I through III and possibly the odd ducks of Category IV. However I've given this a lot of thought recently, and believe this is the right time for the first release to occur. Sometime in the next few days I will open a new thread with a link to the download file (along with instructions and comments), and those who are interested can finally see what this thing looks like in-game. Here's hoping it's all been worthwhile!