| 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.
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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.
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HMAS
HOBART with roundel |
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