Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
Victory Depends on Ships, 1939 UK poster: A ship's bow forms the V of 'Victory' in red, white and blue, with the text

Victory Depends on Ships

A ship's bow forms the V of 'Victory' in red, white and blue, with the text 'Victory depends on ships; when we get them depends on you!' above the issuer's name. The tell is the virtue word 'Victory' tied to an unspecified personal duty: the poster does not say what the viewer should do to speed ships' delivery.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Glittering generalities
Date
1939
Period
Second World War
Made by
Wartime Merchant Shipping Limited
Region
Western and Central Europe
Country
United Kingdom
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
Corporation
Regime
Churchill Government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Mobilize or secure compliance
Themes
Economy and finance, Home front, Labor
Event
World War II
Regime
Churchill wartime government
Leader
Winston Churchill
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
Held by NARA, Unrestricted; hosted by owner decision
Wartime Merchant Shipping Limited, National Archives and Records Administration, 44-PF-496.

Text on the object

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

VICTORY
Depends on SHIPS
When we get them
Depends on YOU!
WARTIME MERCHANT SHIPPING LIMITED

More propaganda examples that use the same techniques

Gypsum alabaster slab inscribed in cuneiform, from Nimrud (Kalhu), reign of Ashurnasirpal IINeo Assyrian EmpireGypsum alabaster slab inscribed in cuneiform, from Nimrud (Kalhu), reign of Ashurnasirpal II0000 · Transfer, Glittering generalitiesColour lithograph of the Latin text of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti on the wall of the temple of Roma and Augustus at Ancyra, with the heading in large letters (Perrot, Guillaume and Delbet, 1872)Roman EmpireColour lithograph of the Latin text of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti on the wall of the temple of Roma and Augustus at Ancyra, with the heading in large letters (Perrot, Guillaume and Delbet, 1872)0014 · Card stacking, Glittering generalitiesBronze sestertius of Trajan, reverse S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI, S C, the emperor on horseback riding down an enemyRoman EmpireBronze sestertius of Trajan, reverse S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI, S C, the emperor on horseback riding down an enemy0103 · Testimonial, Glittering generalitiesGold solidus of Constantine I, reverse RESTITVTORI LIBERTATISRoman EmpireGold solidus of Constantine I, reverse RESTITVTORI LIBERTATIS0313 · Glittering generalitiesGold solidus of Justinian I, reverse VICTORIA AVGGG with Victory holding a Christogram staffByzantine EmpireGold solidus of Justinian I, reverse VICTORIA AVGGG with Victory holding a Christogram staff0538 · Transfer, Glittering generalitiesThe Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I (Royal Museums Greenwich version), oil on panelEnglandThe Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I (Royal Museums Greenwich version), oil on panel1588 · Transfer, Glittering generalitiesMedal of Elizabeth I: portrait in a ruff, reverse an ark on stormy waves with SAEVAS TRANQVILLA PER VNDAS (18th-century aftercast of a 1588 model)EnglandMedal of Elizabeth I: portrait in a ruff, reverse an ark on stormy waves with SAEVAS TRANQVILLA PER VNDAS (18th-century aftercast of a 1588 model)1588 · Transfer, Glittering generalitiesFrontispiece to Eikon Basilike, The Pourtraicture of His Sacred Majestie in his Solitudes and Sufferings (Hollar, 1649)Dutch RepublicFrontispiece to Eikon Basilike, The Pourtraicture of His Sacred Majestie in his Solitudes and Sufferings (Hollar, 1649)1649 · Transfer, Glittering generalities