or red). The ship's waterline was always in black. A total of five different ship camouflage schemes were employed on the Captains. The ships came from the shipyards in white with light blue polygons, the US Navy's camouflage pattern for northern latitudes. For those ships assigned to the North Atlantic, a scheme consisting of light and dark blues and greens with some soft white was adopted as it was believed that this would blend with the sea colour in bad weather. Ships assigned to the English Channel in 1944 (Coastal Forces control frigates and those assigned to Operation Neptune as headquarters ships) received a design in black, blue, light grey and white. For ships assigned to the 16th Flotilla (Harwich) and 21st Flotilla (Sheerness) operating in the North Sea and English Channel, a scheme consisting of horizontal upper deck divisions of light and dark grey (as used by the US Navy) was used. Early in 1945, a scheme was adopted that was to be common to all Royal Navy ships, consisting of white with a sky-blue stripe along the hull. Modifications to Normandy landing HQ ships HMS Dacres, HMS Kingsmill and HMS Lawford were converted to headquarters ships for use during Operation Neptune (the Normandy landings). These ships had their aft three-inch (76 mm) gun and all the depth charge gear removed, and the superstructure extended, to provide accommodations for extra Staff Officers; two deckhouses were built for the additional radios needed and a smaller extra mainmast was added to support the many additional aerials. Four more Oerlikons were fitted bringing the total to 16, and a number of radar sets fitted (Type 271 centimetric target identification and Type 291 air warning, and the associated Types 242 and 253 IFF sets). The complement was reduced to 141, but with a headquarters staff of 64. Ships' companies The Captains had a typical crew of either 156 (Evarts) or 186 (Buckley) officers and ratings. The bulk of the ratings enlisted after the outbreak of World War II, thus having little military or seafaring experience, and had to be trained in whichever branch of the Navy they chose to serve; after about six weeks drilling, marching and generally getting physically fit they went into specific job training. Many of the senior non-commissioned officers were pre-war Royal Navy ratings who had been promoted. Engineering personnel were faced with the added complication of power plants