UK: Blue is new black for Navy subs

The Navy's submarines are getting a change in colour as part of a experiment in camouflaging the vessels.

During their 105 years as part of the Navy's fleet, most submarines have been painted black.

Now, nuclear submarine HMS Torbay, which is based at Devonport in Plymouth, has become the first of the underwater fleet to sport the new blue colour scheme.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "This is an ongoing process of improvement, and if that means submarines will be less visible to the eye as a result, then all the better."

The black paintwork created a "harder outline" and was more easily spotted, said the spokesman.

Submarines have been painted other colours in the past - two of the fleet were painted sandy-brown and green-black at the time of the first Gulf War.

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