Pre-War paint.                                            As HMS AMPHION, she was painted in the Royal Navy color of 507C which was the standard light grey.  As HMAS PERTH, she still wore this when commissioned.  In December 1939, in the Caribbean, she was painted in a slightly darker light grey. She remained in plain grey overall until December 1940.               Dummy Funnel and Funnel Flaps.                                                                         On 3rd September 1939 PERTH was in the West Indies and it was decided to rig a dummy funnel between the two real funnels so that enemy observers would think there were two British cruisers in the area.  This disguise was only used for a short time as far as is known.  The funnel flaps were fitted while in the West Indies and the frame of the one on the aft funnel can be seen in the photo of PERTH at Kingston.  The idea was that they would break up the outline of the two funnels and so confuse enemy rangefinders.  It is not known if they were very effective.  The flaps were worn until the time of her loss and their positions were altered in the last camouflage.              Aerial Recognition Letters.                                                              Probably at the time of her commissioning in 1939, the letters"PR" were painted in white on B and X Turret.  Sometime during her stay in the Caribbean these were changed to"PA".   This was apparently in keeping with the practice of the RAN and RN at the time. ( Photos show HOBART wearing"HT" and CANBERRA "CB", around 1940 ). These were still in place when she arrived in Sydney in March 1940. Caribbean Oct.1939 Carib. late 1939 early 1940 Sydney Mar.1940 Aerial Recognition Roundels Photos exist of HOBART wearing a red,white,and blue roundel (The same as worn on RAAF aircraft) on 'B' turret in 1940 and of YARRA wearing one on the blast shield behind A turret in February 1940. No evidence has been found that PERTH wore this device. HMAS HOBART with roundel .

 

EARLY WAR PATTERN No pattern was worn from the start of the war until December 1940. 507C was used overall with the wooden decks unpainted. Funnel flaps were fitted late 1939 in the Caribbean and she was repainted in a slightly darker light grey.

1st CAMOUFLAGE PATTERN Dec. 1940 - Nov. 1941 Pattern was the same on both sides

The first pattern was applied at Alexandria on the 27th December 1940.  A competition was held for the design and it was won by AB Ross Birbeck and was often called the "Harbour Bridge" pattern.The colors used were Royal Navy Dark Grey 507A and Light Grey 507C. The deck was painted a dark blue but was painted slightly offset at the bow and the stern to confuse aircraft as to her true course. The tops of the turrets were painted Dark Blue. ( Information courtesy of the late Mr.Ray Parkin who was in charge of painting the design on the forward part of the ship )            Intermediate patterns.                                                 Late in 1941 PERTH was used to trial a number of Camouflage Patterns. The trials were carried out off Sydney under the supervision of Professor Dakin who designed her last camouflage. A final report was sent to the R.A.N. on 25.11.1941 explaining the merits of  the different patterns worn by PERTH so it appears that the trials took place just prior to this date.

 

2nd CAMOUFLAGE PATTERN Nov 1941 - 1st Mar 1942

The last pattern was designed by Prof. Dakin and appears to have been applied in Nov 1941.  The Starboard side was painted in a pattern using Light Grey  (MS4A or 507C)  and Very Dark Grey ( MS1).  The intention of the design was to confuse the enemy as to her inclination and which way she was actually steaming. The Port side carried no pattern and was painted in two tones of  Dirty Blue-Grey.    The two blues were very similar in tone and look like one color in photos. ( This blue is virtually identical with the Sea Blue worn by the U.S.Navy in 1942) The deck was painted Dark Blue.  This pattern was worn at the time of her loss. ( Aust.Nat Arch. Files C1707/P1 and Series A5954/69 Item 396/7.) NOTE: There are some publications that show a "Dazzle Pattern" being worn on PERTH's port side as part of her second camouflage. In 2009 I raised this matter with Frank McGovern, a survivor of the PERTH sinking, who was in charge of the paint locker at the time. Here is his reply. "2. New Camouflage Pattern “You are quite right regarding the PORT side being a blue-grey color and remained so when we were sunk.  The starboard side was painted with the angle camouflage whilst in Sydney. As a matter of fact, I remember being in the bosun’s chair alongside Syd Matsen painting the aft stack. My feeling is that the MED camouflage on the PORT side was painted over in the blue-grey color maybe prior to applying the new camouflage which we were unable to do due to the almost constant movement in and out of port. If you look closely at the last photo of the Perth, you may just discern a faint outline of the MED camouflage” I couldn’t identify the old camo pattern under the paint in her last photo. Professor Dakin used the two patterns that were on PERTH at the time of her loss to assess  their effectiveness. Whether he later designed another “Dazzle” pattern for the Port side  I have been unable to verify. If it did exist it certainly wasn’t used.

Thought to have been taken from HMAS Australia between Dec. 1941 and Jan. 1942

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