Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
'Hið hraðasta bardaga loftskip í heimi' [The Fastest Fighting Aircraft in the World], 1942 US poster: An aerial photograph

'Hið hraðasta bardaga loftskip í heimi' [The Fastest Fighting Aircraft in the World] (World's Fastest Fighting Plane [Icelandic])

An aerial photograph of a twin-boom fighter with US star markings sits in a blue border of white stars, with a flag graphic and a captioned portrait of President Roosevelt beside an Icelandic text block. The headline claims the fastest fighting aircraft in the world and the text gives one speed figure (450 miles an hour) with no comparison (card-stacking); the flag, stars and presidential portrait lend national authority (transfer).

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Card stackingTransfer
Date
1942
Period
Second World War
Made by
Office of War Information (OWI), U.S. Government (attributed from the NARA RG 44 series; no issuer imprint printed on the sheet)
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
Themes
War and the military, Science and technology
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 (U.S. government work, NARA RG 44 OWI series)
Office of War Information, 1942-1945. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44 (NAID 44268401, 44-PF-R-3a).

Text on the object

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

HIÐ HRAÐASTA BARDAGA
LOFTSKIP Í HEIMI

Bandaríkja Herinn hefur nú nýtt bardaga loftskip, afar sterklega
vopnað og getur flogið 450 mílur á klukkustundinni og jafnvel meir.
Það er vafalaust eitt af þeim merkverðustu loftskipum, sjerstaklega þegar
tekið er titlit til hvað það stendur sig vel afar hátt uppí loftinu. Bandaríkin
hafa nú þegar tvöfaldað loftskipa verkstæði sín og eru nú að stofnafeikilegan
grúa af loftskipum. Þungamiðjan í áformum Bandaríkja þjóðarinnar er
að þær þjóðir sem ráðast á aðrar skuli ekki bera sigur úr býtum.

ROOSEVELT, FORSETI

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

THE FASTEST FIGHTING AIRCRAFT IN THE WORLD

The United States Army now has a new fighting aircraft, very heavily armed, which can fly 450 miles an hour and even more. It is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable aircraft, especially considering how well it performs very high in the air. The United States has already doubled its aircraft factories and is now [building] an extraordinary multitude of aircraft [approximate]. The core of the plans of the American nation is that nations which attack others shall not win the victory.

ROOSEVELT, PRESIDENT

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