Warships repeatedly borrowed merchant identities

Merchant disguise long predates the World War I Q-ship. Royal Navy ships hunting privateers often altered their appearance to look like harmless trading vessels. The French commander bluffed at Pulo Aura later encountered the reverse trick when a Royal Navy squadron sailed like a disorderly merchant convoy. A 98-gun second-rate reached dangerously close range before the French recognized the trap. Together, the two episodes show merchants imitating warships and warships imitating merchants with the same visual cues.