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Posted by Rick E Davis on January 12, 2021, 10:31:46, in reply to " Mountbatten Pink on the Juneau"
The problem with considering any RN variant of Mountbatten Pink being used on USS JUNEAU, is that the formulas for the "Swenson" written formula that was suppose to be what was used on the USN destroyers (and cruisers?) in the South Atlantic in 1942, is significantly different than the RN Formula. Look at the side-by-side formula's comparison in my response below the post by Michael Brown ... https://members.boardhost.com/Warship/msg/1610260167.html ...
Also, USS JUNEAU and Capt Swenson when she was repainted at Tongatabu, likely had no access to all the components or time to get them, in the formula he wrote down for USN Mountbatten Pink being used on the USN destroyers he saw in the South Atlantic. He could have "improvised" with USN ingredients. So, what the "final" product looked like is. Or simply used USN standard paints using the white base and adding the number of tinting pints he thought best. 
Previous Message
RN Mountbatten Pink ranged from medium tone down to very light. In some cases using the standard Admiralty light grey mixed with red, thus giving in black and white photos the same approximate tone as seen in Juneau. It seems to me that Swenson was very much aware of the value of very light tones as a concealment camouflage at night and during night engagements. Many thought that the opposite was the case, and it took considerable time for the former to sink in. Nights in the South Pacific are often with little or no moon and when one considers nights when there is cloud cover. Swenson must also have been influenced by RN practices and the personal views of Mountbatten
who was abroad on the east coast of America in the spring of 1942. Previous Message
This is of no direct interest to me, but wow! - what a superb posting, full of detail and excellent photos. Previous Message
To Camouflage Paint experts, I have a puzzle.
Normally we have a paint being used that Grayscale photos can't tell you what "color" they are so we can duplicate. The Mountbatten Paint used by the USN has been a real puzzle for me anyway. The paint chip samples, both for RN and USN display a fairly WIDE RANGE of shades. Which one did the USN use in mid-1942? In a quiet odd way, there is a formula for this paint provided by a Capt. well versed in USN Camo efforts in mid-1941. Capt. Swenson, CO of USS JUNEAU in correspondence was recommending that the PacFlt should consider using the same Mountbatten Pink paint he observed applied to USN destroyers (and maybe USS MEMPHIS) while JUNEAU was in the South Atlantic. Capt Swenson was no novice to USN Camouflage. He had commanded submarines and destroyers, and served a number of years at NRL and knew the NRL Camo "Expert", Lt. Commander Bittinger. When the Pacific Fleet Camo experiments started in mid-1941, Swenson was tasked to gather the data and analyze it. He also, made suggested adjustments to some applied schemes.
Anyway here is the letter with the formula he got from someone in the USN (NRL?) or one of the ships that had the paint applied.
I have a 1/700 resin model of USS DAVIS (DD-395) that I have modified to her appearance in mid-1942 while she was painted in Mountbatten Pink. The USN painted several ships that served in the South Atlantic with Mountbatten Pink. Some ships are documented, others are inferred from photos as being painted with this paint, with at least some of the ships so painted at Charleston Navy Yard. The destroyers that accompanied USS JUNEAU to Recife during July 1942, were at various times included these units;
USS SOMERS (DD-381)
USS DAVIS (DD-395)
USS JOUETT (DD-396)
The images below show units of the USN "Leaders" assigned to the South Atlantic Fleet, that show what their "Mountbatten Pink" looks like in Grayscale B&W photography. Includes views of USS DAVIS and JOUETT (note that it appears they painted the decks and horizontal surfaces with Mountbatten Pink as well).
My problem is which paint or color to use? The above formula shows that the amount of "Blue/Black paste" as being 5 TM units hand written on by the letter. This would point to about a 5H shade with additional "RED Cake" added, IF and only IF the rest of the ingredients are equal to the White Base used to make the 5-H/5-O/5-N family of paints. I'm assuming that the paint would be a "contrast" shade between 5-H and 5-O Anyone with knowledge of the paint formulas and the various shades of Mountbatten Pink, able to say what shade should be used on my model??
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