A FINE ART

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 64, Issue 4533, 6 February 1942, Page 3

A FINE ART

CAMOUFLAGE IN WAR. CONFUSING THE ENEMY. War cables in recent weeks have given many instances of the use of camouflage to confuse the enemy—of aerodromes almost impossible to find, of the use of trees to disguise guns, and of any other ruses. In the last war the art of camouflage also was well to the fore. Ordinary hessian was one of the most common mediums of camouflage in the World War; Its lightness, lack of bulk, and soft pliability made it specially adaptable as a basic material for transforming shapes and disguising objects of military importance. It was painted to blend with the general surroundings. It was twisted around objects to alter their shapes; it was stretched across areas to block out the view. Clay was smeared over its surface to represent earth; rag and other materials were knotted into it to match a particular colour scheme, and bracken and branches were poked through its mesh to produce artificial shrubbery. Stretched on frames along roads exposed to the enemy, it effectively shielded troop movements, and when its purpose was served it was rolled into a small compass and quickly transported to'other positions. Camouflage, in its broader use, is a job for skilled artists, capable of visualising the distant effect of their work. A development of the hessian idea, for more permanent work, is seen in recent months textiles, rayon, paper—the metal screening now adopted widely in France. In the case of industrial plants, easily discernible from the air in ordinary circumstances, and which are more difficult to disguise, confusion of outline is aimed at by the erection of artificial extensions and the creation of false shadows. Paint, of course, plays an important part in this game of delusion, but to be effective it must be applied by skilled hands. Snipers and observers, who worked in pairs, and whose hazardous job was frequently carried out in No Man’s Land, merged themselves into their surroundings by means of camouflage.