Radius of action is navigator's problem
Comic scene of a crew on an inflatable raft in open sea glaring and shouting at the navigator, Gooney, who sits sweating with daggers flying toward him. A verse says his dead reckoning let the fuel run out. The technique is a fear-appeal with social blame: running out of fuel is shown as ocean all around and an angry crew.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1943
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- U.S. Army Air Forces (artist: Lantz)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Military
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Own forces
- Purpose
- Warn or inform
- 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. Army Air Forces. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1391C (NAID 515052).
Text on the object
“NAVIGATOR GOONEY” THOUGHT HE KNEW HIS D. R. WAS SURE THAT HE WOULD NEVER GO TOO FAR BUT ALAS FOR GOONEY WHEN THE FUEL RAN OUT THERE WAS NOTHING BUT OCEAN ROUNDABOUT. RADIUS OF ACTION IS NAVIGATOR’S PROBLEM [signature:] LANTZ [imprint:] ☆ U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1943—O—500830
