On December 2, 1918, the ocean liner RMS Mauretania pulled into New York Harbor carrying American aviators and other troops returning from Europe after serving in World War One.
Apart from the joyful troops returning home at long last, you may notice something a little unusual about the ship. It has a rather interesting paint job known as dazzle camouflage.
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I had to investigate dazzle camouflage, which was an idea that was put forward by the British marine artist Norman Wilkinson and later adopted by the U.S. Navy. According to Wikipedia, dazzle camouflage is a family of ship camouflage that was used extensively during the Great War, and sometimes afterwards. It consisted of complex patterns of geometric shapes in contrasting colors interrupting and intersecting each other. The intent of dazzle camouflage was not to conceal the ship but to make it harder for enemies to estimate a target’s range, speed, and heading. Each ship had a unique dazzle pattern to avoid making ships recognizable to the enemy.
I was intrigued by the figure in white up front. At first I imaged it was a nun, but I blew up the photo and it seems to be a soldier though I couldn’t tell much more about him.
A row of ladies were waiting on Cunard Pier to shake hands with the returning soldiers.
old spirituals 
My humble opinion is the man in white is a wounded soldier. The one right of him is likely an Argyll and Sutherland Highlander Scottish Regiment soldier.
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I must have been in a daze when I typed the comment above about the soldier being of the Highland Regiment. The cap he is wearing looks like that of the British Highland Regiment. Now that my brain has awaken, I realize it is a wool overseas service cap worn by American soldiers during WWI.
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He looks very tough to me (the soldier to the right of the man in white). But I would never have recognized the hat! I always think of those helmets the doughboys wore. It’s hard to describe but you probably know what I mean. Picture here: https://www.history.com/news/why-were-americans-who-served-in-world-war-i-called-doughboys
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I know the helmet. When the U.S. entered WWI its Army had no helmet. The first wave of American soldiers were assigned to British or French units and donned the helmet of that country. America decided to manufacture a helmet like the British, naming it the M1917.
The WWII helmet is the M1 shell. The M1 had a liner made of “hard hat” type material that was sized to fit the soldier’s head because the outer, steel helmet only came in 2 sizes.
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You know the book I mentioned where the girls jumped into a volcano in despair over Valentino’s death. I still can’t recall the title, but I remember the author wrote that he told history by “flashes of lightning” by which he meant insights that make the past come alive for people. That’s what I mean about your comments! 🙂
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Harlequin ships. Cool beans!
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I love harlequins!
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I’ve never heard of or seen dazzle camouflage. Very interesting! I think the mysterious man in white was a spy for the Allies that caught a ride home with the aviators. So good to see all these brave men coming home!
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Ooh, I like that theory! Maybe apropos for the spy, who must blend in to do his job, to stand out once it’s done!
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the first photo looks like a human wave in front of the ship! You can feel the joy of the crowd!
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I didn’t notice that but you’re right! How funny!
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