# Navy Battle, faces painted white

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-battle-faces-painted-white/828019>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 19, 2019, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-battle-faces-painted-white/828019 "2019-01-19T02:15:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-battle-faces-painted-white/828019/1 "2019-01-19T02:15:36Z")

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I was watching The Caine Mutiny today. During the scene where the ship is supposed to escort the landing craft to the beach, but Queeg chickens out, all the crew had their faces painted white, [like this.](https://i.imgur.com/BvMhb2x.jpg)What was the purpose of this? And why do most of them not paint their lips and chins?

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**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-battle-faces-painted-white/828019/2 "2019-01-19T02:21:50Z")

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> [@Peter\_Morris](#):
>
> I was watching The Caine Mutiny today. During the scene where the ship is supposed to escort the landing craft to the beach, but Queeg chickens out, all the crew had their faces painted white, [like this.](https://i.imgur.com/BvMhb2x.jpg)What was the purpose of this? And why do most of them not paint their lips and chins?

Suspect zinc oxide. Great sun screen. And may help in bad weather.

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**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-battle-faces-painted-white/828019/3 "2019-01-19T02:41:21Z")

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[Anti-flash cream.](https://www.google.com/search?num=100&newwindow=1&ei=molCXOnnDYS1_AbCorTICQ&q=anti+flash+cream&oq=Navy+Battle%2C+faces+painted+white&gs_l=psy-ab.1.1.0i71l7.0.0..48382...0.0..0.0.0.......0......gws-wiz.2c_uAWOpLuo)

CMC fnord!

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**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-battle-faces-painted-white/828019/4 "2019-01-19T02:56:12Z")

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Thanks, great answer.

And the reason they didn’t put it on their chins?

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**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-battle-faces-painted-white/828019/5 "2019-01-19T03:55:55Z")

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Interesting side note…The Caine Mutiny was loosely based on the captain of a destroyer that capsized during Adm Halsey’s I’ll fated fleet refueling in a typhoon in 1944.