The T-Slot you carelessly clean
Aircraft gun maintenance poster in cartoon style: a strained gunner called Joe Dope reaches into a cut-away wing to a machine gun, while a plane burns and falls in the corner. A four-line verse warns that a carelessly cleaned T-slot leads to a ruptured cartridge. The technique is a fear-appeal built on a jammed gun in combat.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1945
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- U.S. Government (issuer not named on sheet; Government Printing Office imprint)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Own forces
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Theme
- War and the military
- Event
- World War II
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
U.S. Government. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1143KK (NAID 514706).
Text on the object
The "T-Slot" you carelessly clean Will pit and soon form a space-seam Ruptured cartrige at best Will result, and the rest Joe Dope best describes what we mean [imprint:] U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1945-O-631774
