Comments by "Sar Jim" (@sarjim4381) on "Anti-Sub Warfare in WW1 - From Hammers to Hunter-Killers" video.

While the evidence of dazzle or disruptive camouflage being effective against submarines is still controversial, what's not controversial is the effects of painting ships when it came to keeping convoys together and handling them in port. The same disruptive effects that made it hard for a sub to estimate range and heading did the same when escorts had to try to keep such ships on station in convoys. Many escorts had a hard time telling which ship was which and if it was on or off station. Books of dazzle painting schemes were issued to escorts and convoy commanders to help identify ships, and the use of semaphore signals was often needed to confirm a ship's speed and heading. Even so, there are reports of collisions between dazzle painted ships because of these issues. Since dazzle painting was expensive to apply and maintain, it was generally only applied to ships of 3,000 or more. German submarine commanders reported they didn't bother with non-dazzle painted ships, assuming they were too small and less valuable targets, so dazzle painting was a signal to a submarine of which ships to attack firsFt. The same problems were even worse while ships were in port, since the ships were packed in together under conditions of poor visibility made it hard for tugs to know what ship they were trying to maneuver and where they should go. This too led to confusion and some collisions. There have been humourous reports of sailors returning from a hard night of of drinking while on liberty. They'd climb onto the wrong ship because they all kind of looked alike through bleary eyes. Sometimes a tottering sailor would sneak past the officer of the deck and just crawl into an available bunk to sleep it off. The realization they were on the wrong ship didn't happen until morning muster. :-)
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@UCdSarc1n55L1pgS__510qlA I agree. While it's fashionable to trash the RN as a shadow of its former self, it's still a powerful shadow. When Prince of Wales is completed, the RN will have two carrier task forces, something only the USN can match. How effective Chinese carrier task forces will be remains to be seen. The RFA has the training, ability, and experience to support all of the RN at sea. This is also something that can only be matched by the USN. I'd even posit that today's RN is the most effective since shortly after the end of WWII. [EDIT] I don't know why Youtube keeps trashing your name. This seems to be happening a lot lately but with no rhyme or reason.
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