The problem with World War I German U-boats is that they were very good at torpedoing allied ships. The obvious solution was to camouflage American and British ships, but here too there was a snag: any paint scheme that effectively hid a boat in one situation would do no good in a situation involving different weather conditions.
Enter Norman Wilkinson , a British artist and naval officer. Wilkinson developed a disruptive camouflage technique that took its cues from cubism. Rather than attempting to conceal the ship, the new scheme aimed at bewildering German U-boat commanders. Did it work? Remains unclear. “Crews on dazzle ships,” however, “were very proud of the bedazzled camouflage.“
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The Canadian War Museum in conjunction with the Imperial War Museum of Britain has just opened an exhibition on the history of camouflage and Mr. Wilkinson features prominently. It is a strangle interesting exhibit. http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/exp/camo/camoe.shtml