Mountbatten Pink?

**LouCoatney** · #1 04-04-2011, 08:10 AM

I am working on a special project - so the Sangamon class escort carrier and Alabama/South Dakota class battleship have been temporarily deserted on the launching ways - details to be announced later.

One of the ships I am working up is Britain's heavy cruiser HMS Dorsetshire, eventually (and needlessly) sunk by Japanese naval aircraft in the Indian Ocean in 1942.

There is a photo of Dorsetshire in Raven and Roberts' Man O' War 1, County Class Cruisers, sporting the famous (or infamous) Mountbatten Pink. MB was the ever-innovative idea of Lord Louis "Dickie" Mountbatten, a much-loved favorite of the royal family (who was ultimately murdered by the IRA) and a very brave naval officer who (among other things) had his equally famous destroyer HMS Kelly blown out from under him during the Crete withdrawal debacle in Spring 1941. (He is less well liked in Canada, because of heavy Canadian casualties during the Dieppe test-landing/raid, which he planned and commanded.)

Anyway, in 1940 before the Admiralty standardized its camouflage, Mountbatten noticed how a ship with an obsolete reddish gray painting completely faded into the sunset and thought the shade should be used for camouflage. I assume Kelly was so painted, and many others followed his charismatic lead.

As it turned out, Mountbatten Pink could only be effective in certain conditions of dawn or dusk, and thanks to its red component stood out like a sore thumb at all other times. Some allege that light cruiser Manchester was sunk by motor torpedo boats while escorting a desperate convoy to Malta, exactly because its full MP painting inescapably loomed out of that day's morning fog.

The photo of Dorsetshire in R&R is listed as August 1941, so it presumably had its MP scheme during the time which interests me.

Matching my color creation against the Wikipedia entry for MP I came up with the color shown. From the photo of D, its seems MP was indeed fairly dark, and I think I'm close. Any opinions?

**B-Manic** · #2 04-04-2011, 11:16 AM

Your MP paint job looks very much like sun faded 'Read Lead' to me which is probably pretty close.

Mountbatten was a great-grandson of Queen Victoria. His exploits aboard Kelly brought him fame through Noël Coward's film In 'Which We Serve'. Within months of assuming command he had nearly capsized, collided with another destroyer, was mined once and torpedoed twice. Kelly was finally capsized under full helm at 34 knots while under attack by German aircraft off Crete in 1941. "He was, in fact, a far better diplomat, organizer, and inspirational leader than he was a fighting officer or grand strategist."

**LouCoatney** · #3 04-04-2011, 04:13 PM

Thank you for your assessment of my MP version, B-Maniac.

Do you mean Kelly wasn't hit by a Stuka bomb? ... but was sunk by Mountbatten turning too tightly at high speed and capsizing the ship?

By the way, the wartime claim that Kelly's crew was machinegunned in the water by the Stukas was apparently a propaganda fabrication ... as you probably know.

**B-Manic** · #4 04-04-2011, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LouCoatney

Do you mean Kelly wasn't hit by a Stuka bomb? ... but was sunk by Mountbatten turning too tightly at high speed and capsizing the ship?

I was not actually there so I really could not say.

The general consensus is that Kelly capsized with all guns blazing while under hard helm having been struck by a bomb.

I do know that the machine gunning of Kelly's crew was not the only fabrication surrounding the esteemed Lord (including his name).

It is interesting that a mine, two torpedoes (1 midships), a collision and a previous near capsizing under his command failed to sink her. Some of her her sister ships were cut nearly in half in similar incidents without sinking. The K Class Destroyers were clearly very sturdy ships being the first built with extra strong longitudinals per Albert Percy Cole's innovative design.

**RAFleischman** · #5 04-04-2011, 05:43 PM

I find it hard to believe that the ship capsized because it was turning too tightly!

Russ

**B-Manic** · #6 04-04-2011, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAFleischman

I find it hard to believe that the ship capsized because it was turning too tightly!

Russ

I find it difficult to believe a 250kg bomb flipped a 2,400 ton displacement 340 foot long ship on its keel (where it floated for 1/2 hour). But here's a picture of a destroyer (HMCS Iroquois) coming out of a high speed turn.

**RAFleischman** · #7 04-04-2011, 07:32 PM

Humm...the ship in the PIX looks like it's heeling about 20 degrees, that's a far cry from what is necessary to capsize it. I did a quick search on the web and didn't find anything about stability issues with the K class destroyers.

Russ

**looker** · #8 04-04-2011, 09:39 PM

Apparently whilst turning under full helm and speed it was struck by a bomb which holed the hull and the ship took on water so rapidly (because of the list and the speed) that it was simply not able to come upright again.

**LouCoatney** · #9 04-05-2011, 01:59 AM

That seems reasonable, and ... to get back to my original question ... what do you guys think of my rendition of Mountbatten Pink?? :-)

**Barry** · #10 04-05-2011, 04:11 AM

Mountbatten Pink = 152 122 141 a pink/purple colour

As an aside my Dad took a posting as a warder to a prison camp in the desert rather than sail with him. His comment was he preferred skippers who fought battles to stay afloat as well as win and Mountbatten bent too many ships. He was a CPO with years of experience in the Med.