That was referred to as “dazzle camouflage” and the idea was to throw off the aim of German U-boats by making it more difficult to determine the size and orientation of the ship from brief periscope observation. They would them not be able to compute the correct fire control solution for their torpedos.
To add to this, not just size and orientation! It also made it more difficult to determine the speed (and sometimes it was hard to tell if it was moving at all)
That was referred to as “dazzle camouflage” and the idea was to throw off the aim of German U-boats by making it more difficult to determine the size and orientation of the ship from brief periscope observation. They would them not be able to compute the correct fire control solution for their torpedos.
To add to this, not just size and orientation! It also made it more difficult to determine the speed (and sometimes it was hard to tell if it was moving at all)