Port Side of S.S. Nansemonde, Showing Camouflage

This technical rendering documents the camouflage design applied to the S.S. Nansemonde during World War I. Artist Griffith Baily Coale, commissioned by the U.S. Bureau of C&R, developed dazzle camouflage schemes for Allied vessels—a system using bold, contrasting geometric patterns in blue-gray and black to disrupt visual perception and confuse enemy rangefinders. Rather than concealment, dazzle aimed to distort a ship's apparent speed, direction, and distance. Coale's precise elevation view shows the port side profile with characteristic diagonal striping and angular forms. His work exemplified how modern visual design became integral to naval warfare, merging art and military strategy on an unprecedented scale.