A German Bomber Is Shot Down by a British Fighter in the Battle of Britain
A painting shows a burning, flak-torn German bomber with crew falling by parachute while a single British fighter banks away, above a text giving 2,375 German aircraft destroyed in daylight against 375 RAF pilots killed and 358 wounded. The tell is the pairing of an enemy-aircraft total with the RAF's pilot casualties only, with no count of British aircraft lost or German crew, and the claim that the RAF 'always found the answer' (card-stacking).
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1939
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Unattributed British wartime poster series 'The Battle of Britain, August-October 1940' (no imprint visible); artist Ron Jobson (signed 'Jobson')
- 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
- Theme
- War and the military
- Event
- World War II
- 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
- Public domain (UK Crown copyright expired); NARA Unrestricted; hosted by owner decision
Unattributed British wartime poster series 'The Battle of Britain, August-October 1940' (no imprint visible); artist Ron Jobson (signed 'Jobson'). National Archives and Records Administration, 44-PF-434c.
Text on the object
A GERMAN BOMBER IS SHOT DOWN BY A BRITISH FIGHTER IN THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN THE GERMANS USED every combination of fighters and bombers, every known flying formation, every trick and stratagem to elude the British fighter patrols. But however ingenious the German tactics, the R.A.F. always found the answer to them. Between 8th August, 1940 and 31st October, 2,375 German aircraft were known to have been destroyed in daylight. The Royal Air Force lost 375 pilots killed and 358 wounded. [signature:] Jobson [emblem:] THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN AUGUST-OCTOBER 1940 (1940 1942)
