During World War II navies developed low visibility, horizontal and vertical surface camouflage for their ships. The camouflage served to reduce the visibility of the ships by blending them in with the sea. It also made the identity of the ship confusing by applying more obtrusive patterns. In this the third volume by maritime artist Malcolm Wright, both the official and unofficial paint schemes that adorned the cruisers and minelayers of the Royal Navy and Commonwealth are depicted in detail. Where possible both sides of the ship are depicted, and there are multiple images of the ships where armament or equipment changes had a fundamental impact on a ship's appearance.

With 800 full color illustrations arranged by ship type rather than camouflage scheme, this book concentrates the clearest possible information into a single volume to provide a one-stop reference source. Historians, collectors, model makers, and war gamers will find this unique reference source invaluable.