Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
Battleships of the Royal Navy, 1939 UK poster: A coloured drawing shows a line of Royal Navy battleships firing broadsides

Battleships of the Royal Navy

A coloured drawing shows a line of Royal Navy battleships firing broadsides under a flag at the masthead, with aircraft overhead, captioned 'Battleships of the Royal Navy, steaming in line ahead.' It carries no slogan or request; the closest fit is transfer, where the naval ensign and massed gunfire attach national strength and prestige to the force depicted.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Transfer
Date
1939
Period
Second World War
Made by
Issuer not stated on the item; artist Roland Davies (signed)
Region
Western and Central Europe
Country
United Kingdom
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
State
Regime
Churchill Government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Audience
Mixed
Purpose
Persuade or win support
Theme
War and the military
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 (UK wartime poster; no rights statement)
Issuer not stated on the item; artist Roland Davies (signed). National Archives and Records Administration, 44-PF-96.

Text on the object

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

Battleships of the Royal Navy, steaming in line ahead.

[signature:] ROLAND DAVIES

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