Originally Posted by Kilroy1988

No such thing as radar during WWI and vitally no radar at sea yet during WWII.

I think people don't realize how far apart ships engaged in combat during this era. They were typically firing at each other from 2-5 miles apart. The dazzle paint was meant to blend in with all the light reflecting off the water at those distances. It similarly prevented easy spotting from the air at great distances.

The concept was that the mass of a solid color - even gray - would be more obvious than that because the water would have more variations from light and waves, etc.