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New USS Arizona model shows blue paint scheme

By Burl Burlingame

bburlingame@starbulletin.com

The name of the American war plan in 1941 was "Rainbow Five," but it's unlikely this referred to the battleships at Pearl Harbor. Or did it?

According to a discovery by historians, the ships of Battleship Row were a bright kaleidoscope of colors, not the dull gray camouflage they were thought to have been for the last 65 years.

The information was announced last evening at an unveiling of a new model of the USS Arizona in the battleship Visitor Center at Pearl Harbor. Security was tight for the last week as the model was placed in location, and it was covered in shrouds before being dramatically unveiled by a group of USS Arizona survivors.

"Every battleship sailor in the world wants a peek at this," remarked retired Adm. Thomas Fargo to the crowd of several hundred historians, veterans and news media.

The model replaces an older, inaccurate model built in the 1960s. Craftsman Don Preul, determined to create the world's most accurate representation of the warship, conferred with Park Service historian Dan Martinez on the proper colors. Research was difficult because most of the ship's records had been destroyed in 1944.

Preul hit the jackpot in the National Archives when he uncovered an order from Pearl Harbor commander Husband Kimmel directing that the ships under his command be painted a shade referred to as Mediterranean Blue.

"Suddenly, here was a link to something that had troubled us for years," said Martinez. "Then we had it confirmed by USS Arizona aviator Glenn Lane, who was keeper of the paint locker in the aviation section. Not only was the ship blue, but the tops of the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 turrets were red."

Kimmel's orders specify a rainbow of five colors to represent the different battleship divisions, painted atop the two front turrets of battleships. The aftermost turret top was to be painted in a color representing which aircraft division the ship belonged to. In the case of the USS Arizona, both colors were a bright red.

Cruisers had their turret tops painted in similar colors, but in stripes instead of solid panels.

The idea, explained Preul, was so aircraft could identify their own ships, and also see which ships were firing their cannon: "These battleships could throw shells 18 miles. The planes couldn't get close enough to read their names, so the bright colors helped."

Preul, Martinez and associates including naval artist Tom Freeman met a few months ago to go over the orders and compare them to black and white pictures of the period. Their consensus was that the ships at Pearl Harbor were indeed painted in this manner.

"It certainly raised questions about coloration of all the ships at Pearl," said Preul. "This is a topic that has raised a lot of controversy among historians over the years. It also reveals what an interesting time of transition the Navy was in at the time."

"We had it wrong for 65 years," said Martinez. "Today, we have made it right."

Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:Cue Frank Hipper spontaneously orgasming and lactating simultaneously...

Excellent discovery. I LOVE the red-top turrets! I think one of my future ships will feature this.

Thag wrote:Dammit, my Arizona's painted wrong now! Guess I've gotta redo it.

FS, that was the Italians that did the striping. As I recall, the Germans either slapped swastikas on the bow and stern or painted the turret tops.

Frank Hipper wrote:Thing about this is; the photographic evidence has been there, looking people in the face for 65 years. It's merely taken Kimmel's orders, and the testimony of a few key witnesses to put everything together for this new interpretation.

Frank Hipper wrote:That's Tennessee with the light turrets in the photo, and per Kimmel's order her forward turrets should be white.
Judging by the stark contrast in colors, and the fact of the orders, it really does all add up. There's also some overhead shots of cruiser operating with the Pacific Fleet of the time that show clearly delineated stripes that correspond with Kimmel's orders, as well.

A lot of historians have noticed something funky going on in the photos for years, but haven't been able to reconcile what they were seeing in the evidence with what was "known" about color schemes; all it takes is one piece of paper, a couple eyewitnesses and, voila, history is re-written.

It's a great time to be a modeler.

FSTargetDrone wrote:

It's a great time to be a modeler.

I'm not much of a ship modeler, but it's fascinating nonetheless!

Frank Hipper wrote:

FSTargetDrone wrote:

It's a great time to be a modeler.

I'm not much of a ship modeler, but it's fascinating nonetheless!

I meant that as a modeler in general, actually.

Ship modeling may benefit especially from today's changes in the hobby industry, but there isn't an aspect of modeling that hasn't improved, vastly improved, in the past ten years.

With the quality of research going on today, with the global demand for kits that reflect research, and with the huge number of producers meeting that demand, modeling is in a golden age unlike anything before.

The popularity of conventions worldwide, the staggering number of not only kit producers, but producers of after market decals, detail sets, specialist paints for every conceivable subject, printed reference material geared entirely for the modeling community all show that now is a time like no other.

30 years ago, you had a relative handful of large-scale companies producing kits and supplies, and even fewer of reference materials.
What after-market there was (if you could find it!) catered to lunatic fringe rivet-counters.
Going by memory alone I could probably name 95% of those producers; today I wouldn't even know where to start.

If modeling is dying, it certainly has a bizarre way of showing it.

It's a great time to be a modeler.

FSTargetDrone wrote:I didn't somehow mean to suggest otherwise, if that's what came across?

Frank Hipper wrote: Oh, nonono...

Don't misconstrue me taking the opportunity to get on a soapbox with thinking we were in disagreement.
Soory about that.

Kettch wrote:So....

I'm just wondering why none of the thousands of veterans who served in the Pacific fleet never made a stink that Battleships should have been painted blue?

Kettch wrote:So....

I'm just wondering why none of the thousands of veterans who served in the Pacific fleet never made a stink that Battleships should have been painted blue?

FSTargetDrone wrote:

Frank Hipper wrote: Oh, nonono...

Don't misconstrue me taking the opportunity to get on a soapbox with thinking we were in disagreement.
Soory about that.

Hehe, no worries!

In any event, seeing this new information has actually piqued my interest in building an Arizona with these colors. Do you have a favorite plastic kit? I know of Trumpeter in 1/350 and 1/700; DML in 1/700; the funny 1/426th Revell kit and RoG 1/720. Any recommendations?

Frank Hipper wrote:Dragon's Premium Edition is the best bet in 1/700 plastic, but the bow profile needs some help in the form of a little putty.

FSTargetDrone wrote:

Frank Hipper wrote:Dragon's Premium Edition is the best bet in 1/700 plastic, but the bow profile needs some help in the form of a little putty.

This does sound best and not too expensive, from prices I've found online. I found a review of the original release with the weird rubber parts and I want to stay away from that.

You know, another thing I'd like to get my hands on is this kit of the USS Olympia. The actual ship is docked in Philadelphia, berthed alongside the USS Becuna at the Independence Seaport Museum which is an easy drive for me.

Frank Hipper wrote:That's one Revell ship kit that needs a lot of help: those massively out-of-scale rivets ALL over the hull, and the massively out-of-scale plate details make it a labor of love; true, dedicated, unconditional love.

Personally, I'd go for either the Combrig (first choice, best price, photo-etch included) or WSW 1/700 scale resin kits.

Combrig Olympia

FSTargetDrone wrote:

Frank Hipper wrote:That's one Revell ship kit that needs a lot of help: those massively out-of-scale rivets ALL over the hull, and the massively out-of-scale plate details make it a labor of love; true, dedicated, unconditional love.

Personally, I'd go for either the Combrig (first choice, best price, photo-etch included) or WSW 1/700 scale resin kits.

Combrig Olympia

Yeah, but injected plastic is still cheaper. That Combrig kit goes for $350+!

Frank Hipper wrote:Pacific Front Hobbies[/url] lists the 1/700 Combrig USS Olympia for $32.00, and the 1/700 WSW USS Olympia for $45.00.

CaptainChewbacca wrote:I'm also confused as to why no sailor ever looked at a ship model in a museum and said "it was actually green". The article doesn't really explain it.