Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
Out of the Frying Pan - Into the Firing Line!!, 1943 US cartoon: A large frying pan hangs in the sky, dripping fat in drops

Out of the Frying Pan - Into the Firing Line!!

A large frying pan hangs in the sky, dripping fat in drops toward a group of soldiers crewing an anti-aircraft gun, with the text 'Save waste fats - They make BULLETS!'. The tell is transfer: the household pan is joined to the gun crew so the weight of the front is lent to a kitchen chore.

Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon

Transfer
Date
1943
Period
Second World War
Made by
Office of War Information (cartoon artwork; artist Charles Alston)
Region
North America
Country
United States
Medium
Cartoon
Issuer type
State
Regime
Roosevelt Administration
Leader
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Mobilize or secure compliance
Themes
Home front, Economy and finance
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 208, OWI Cartoon Artworks (NAID 535594), retrieved October 3, 2026
Rights
Public domain (U.S. government work)
Office of War Information. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 208, 208-COM-39 (NAID 535609).

Text on the object

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

SAVE WASTE FATS-
They make BULLETS!
"OUT OF THE FRYING PAN - INTO THE FIRING LINE!!"
alston for OWI

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