'¡Disparen a la vista!' [Shoot on Sight!], 1942 US poster: A photograph taken along the deck of a US battleship shows its

'¡Disparen a la vista!' [Shoot on Sight!] (American Battleship North Carolina [Spanish])

A photograph taken along the deck of a US battleship shows its forward gun turret firing in a cloud of smoke, with officers on the bridge wing, above a Spanish text block, a US flag and a portrait of President Roosevelt. The flag and portrait lend authority (transfer), the headline is a quotation attributed to the President (testimonial), and the text gives only US ship counts and claims of superiority (card-stacking).

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Transfer Testimonial Card stacking

Date: 1942
Period: Second World War
Made by: Office of War Information (foreign-language edition; NARA lists no artist or printer)
Region: North America
Country: United States
Medium: Poster
Issuer type: State
Regime: Roosevelt Administration
Leader: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Audience: Foreign public
Purpose: Persuade or win support
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 Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026
Rights: Public domain (US federal government work: Office of War Information, NARA Record Group 44)
Office of War Information, c. 1942-1945. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, Office of Government Reports, WWII Foreign Posters

Text on the object

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

“¡DISPAREN A LA VISTA!”
...FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
Presidente de los Estados Unidos

El acorazado norteamericano “North Carolina” es el más protegido en el mundo y el que mayor blindaje posee. El “North Carolina” se ha unido ahora a los otros acorazados de la Marina de Guerra norteamericana que cumplen la orden del presidente Roosevelt de disparar a la vista contra los piratas de los océanos con objeto de mantener libres los mares del mundo. Cuatro más grandes acorazados han sido botados al agua, los primeros de los 17 nuevos acorazados mayores que llevan hasta 32 el número total de acorazados en servicio en la Marina de Guerra norteamericana, dos veces el número de cualquier otra potencia naval en el mundo. Los Estados Unidos tienen actualmente 343 buques de guerra en servicio y están construyendo 345 más.

EL PRESIDENTE ROOSEVELT

English translation (machine translation by Claude, not verified by a fluent reader)

"SHOOT ON SIGHT!"
...FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
President of the United States

The North American battleship "North Carolina" is the best protected in the world and the one with the heaviest armour. The "North Carolina" has now joined the other battleships of the North American Navy that are carrying out President Roosevelt's order to shoot on sight against the pirates of the oceans in order to keep the seas of the world free. Four more large battleships have been launched, the first of the 17 new major battleships that bring to 32 the total number of battleships in service in the North American Navy, twice the number of any other naval power in the world. The United States currently has 343 warships in service and is building 345 more.

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT