Magic at War

In two world wars, magicians offered to make soldiers, submarines and even battleships disappear. Some proposals went little further than theatrical promises. Others were taken seriously enough to be tested by the military. Among the most remarkable was the work of Maximilian Toch, an American chemist and amateur magician whose camouflage designs were applied to actual warships. Maximilian Toch, magician and camouflage designer (Source: Wiki Commons) Invisible warships On 15 September 1915, the London newspaper Globe carried an intriguing report beneath the headline ‘Invisible Warships’. The United States, still neutral in the European war, was experimenting with ways of concealing its battleships from enemy observation. American warships were reportedly being painted in irregular spirals and contrasting colours to confuse observers about their outlines. In one experiment, the silhouette of a submarine had been painted onto a destroyer, complete with a representation of a periscope on...