Secrets and Lies

Explore the dark side of naval warfare--a world of deception, double-dealing, and disguised vessels--throughout the first half of the 20th century. See how Britain's Royal Navy attempted to fool German U-boats through the technique of"dazzle painting." This camouflaged the HMS President, a Q-ship made to ram U-boats. Over 602 days in 1940-1941, the German raider Atlantis, equipped with fake funnels while its sailors dressed as women pushing prams to fool Allied merchant ships, sank or captured 22 ships. From the cargo ship Automedon, she secured an intelligence assessment of Britain's Far East capabilities and vulnerabilities that directly contributed to Japan's early successes. Look at the ingeniously designed Gizmo, an American spy semi-submersible designed for the invasion of Japan that never made it beyond American waters. Witness the wild, creative, and audacious ways navies disguised their vessels in times of war and the use of intelligence to carry out naval attacks.