by iangazeley » Sat Apr 18, 2026 6:36 am
On the subject of the appearance of Agincourt, with dark hull and light upper-works:
At the behest of C-in-C, the colour of Grand Fleet Battleships was changed to Light Grey, commencing 20 August 1914 and complete by 31 August 1914 (the time-line for changing the colour of ships of the Battle Cruiser Squadrons differed from this). In broad terms, battleships appearance was changed in two stages - upper-works and funnels first, then their hulls. For those ships about to join the GF, orders were sent to fitting out yards and to the Captains of the ships. In the case of Agincourt, Orders were sent to the Captain and Admiralty Supt. Newcastle-on-Tyne, to paint the topmasts and funnels light grey before the ship sailed to Loch Ewe. All these Orders were communicated by cypher, copies of which are extant at The National Archives. In addition, at this stage boot-topping was dispensed with (again communicated via cypher message). The photo posted above can therefore be dated to about a 10 day period in late August 1914.
The focus of my research is ships of the Battlecruiser Squadrons, but they form part of a broader pattern of change in appearance of HM ships.
On the subject of the appearance of Agincourt, with dark hull and light upper-works:
At the behest of C-in-C, the colour of Grand Fleet Battleships was changed to Light Grey, commencing 20 August 1914 and complete by 31 August 1914 (the time-line for changing the colour of ships of the Battle Cruiser Squadrons differed from this). In broad terms, battleships appearance was changed in two stages - upper-works and funnels first, then their hulls. For those ships about to join the GF, orders were sent to fitting out yards and to the Captains of the ships. In the case of Agincourt, Orders were sent to the Captain and Admiralty Supt. Newcastle-on-Tyne, to paint the topmasts and funnels light grey before the ship sailed to Loch Ewe. All these Orders were communicated by cypher, copies of which are extant at The National Archives. In addition, at this stage boot-topping was dispensed with (again communicated via cypher message). The photo posted above can therefore be dated to about a 10 day period in late August 1914.
The focus of my research is ships of the Battlecruiser Squadrons, but they form part of a broader pattern of change in appearance of HM ships.