Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
No T.N.T. Without Sulphuric Acid, 1939 UK poster: A submarine sinks beside a large explosion above a yellow band

No T.N.T. Without Sulphuric Acid

A submarine sinks beside a large explosion above a yellow band with the slogan 'No T.N.T. without sulphuric acid' and a rail tank wagon marked Imperial Smelting Corporation Ltd. The tell is transfer: a naval victory image is tied to a named industrial product, so the chemical is credited with the result.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Transfer
Date
1939
Period
Second World War
Made by
Issuer not named (tank wagon lettered 'Imperial Smelting Corporation Ltd'); British wartime poster
Region
Western and Central Europe
Country
United Kingdom
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
State
Regime
Churchill Government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Persuade or win support
Themes
War and the military, Economy and finance
Event
World War II
Regime
Churchill wartime government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Source
Unidentified Source blurred: contractors, cutouts, buried disclosure
Source
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026
Rights
Held by NARA, Unrestricted; hosted by owner decision (British wartime poster, no rights statement)
Issuer not named (tank wagon lettered 'Imperial Smelting Corporation Ltd'); British wartime poster, National Archives and Records Administration, 44-PF-304.

Text on the object

Original (English) · read from the image, not independently checked

NO T.N.T.
WITHOUT
SULPHURIC ACID
[on tank wagon:] IMPERIAL SMELTING CORPORATION LTD  302

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