Re:New fighter jet camouflage schemes
by astrosi on Sunday April 08, 2012 @07:13AM
(#3813586)
This is a pretty old idea however not applied to aircraft, it was used on ships in WW1 and WW2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_camouflage
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Zebras used it even before that. Practically all camouflage ideas can be found from nature.
Except they used it to deter bloodsucking insects.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/120209-zebra-st...
How do you explain okapi and quagga?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okapi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quagga
Explain what?
If stripes are for insects not biting, then how come some species have developed only partial stripes? Would not make sense to get all the flies to concentrate on your non striped body-parts... Against lions this makes perfect sense as having striped backside makes the overall shape harder to grasp.
Its not that I agree with the parent but did you read the linked article?
"The results may help explain why zebras' skinniest stripes are on their faces and legs. "That's also the place where you have the thinnest skin," said Åkesson, of Sweden's Lunds University."
But as I stated up thread even if this research was definitive it does not preclude the camouflage benefits...
Except that is just one study, not definitive and does not preclude multiple benefits.
And similar to German WWI "Lozenge" aircraft camoflauge, which I'm surprised the OP didn't mention: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lozenge_camouflage
It's more similar to the MARPAT camouflage pattern used by the Marines: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MARPAT
The rationale is closer to that behind dazzle camouflage, though—to confuse, rather than to conceal.