Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
The Biggest Invasion Fleet the World Has Ever Known, 1939 UK poster: A map shows a red mass of Allied ships under British

The Biggest Invasion Fleet the World Has Ever Known

A map shows a red mass of Allied ships under British and US flags streaming through Gibraltar to Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian ports, while Axis-flagged ships burn at sea. The tell is selection: the claim of 'only minor losses' comes with no figures, and only Axis ships are shown sinking.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Card stacking
Date
1939
Period
Second World War
Made by
Not stated (imprint 'B.O.S. 43' only; British origin inferred from the English text and the Union Flag)
Region
Western and Central Europe
Country
United Kingdom
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
State
Regime
Churchill Government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Audience
Foreign public
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 (publication 1939-1945, UK origin)
Issuer not stated (imprint B.O.S. 43). National Archives and Records Administration, 44-PF-435.

Text on the object

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

THE BIGGEST INVASION FLEET THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN. 850 troopships, supply ships and warships reach North African ports, including hundreds through Gibraltar, with only minor losses—leaving the German and Italian U-Boats completely out-manoeuvred.

Map labels: ATLANTIC OCEAN; PORTUGAL; SPAIN; FRANCE; ITALY; GIBRALTAR; RABAT; CASABLANCA; ORAN; ALGIERS; BOUGIE; TUNIS; TRIPOLI; MOROCCO; ALGERIA; TUNISIA; AFRICA; MEDITERRANEAN SEA

[imprint:] B.O.S. 43

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