WWII Posters & Art

Here’s a few more from allied propaganda.

I have a question regarding one of these…
How does recycled fat is related to explosive production ?
Maybe one of our ammunition specialist could explain ?

Lots more to come,
I’m currently reading the History of world propaganda 33-45.
I will scan only those that are not already available on the net…

regards

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Windrider, I’m no expert on explosives, but I can provide a partial answer for you.

Many forms of explosive require a “suspension medium”: much as when one dissolves enough salt in water, the water ceases to be “water” and instead becomes a “saturated solution”.

As the war progressed, various ingredients of explosive compounds come to require increasingly diverse suspension media.
The later forms of “plastique” explosives are an example of this, as is what today we call “Thermite”.

However, the earlier forms of compound such as Tri-Nitro-Toluene and “Amatol” remained in wide-spread use, which meant that animal fats were useful as part of the suspension medium these compounds required.

I’m not good for much more detail on the topic than that, and add a caveate that the ordnance/explosives experts on the forum may well provide more and better detail on the topic, so, what I have written here may stand to be corrected.

Kind Regards windrider, Uyraell.

Well, I think that I will be able to provide an all-inclusive answer for you, my dear Mr. Windrider. You see, different vegetable oils and animal fats are representing an excellent source of glycerol, and that compound – if nitrated with nitric and sulfuric acid – is able to produce glycerol-trinitrate, which is an essential ingredient of smokeless gunpowder and various explosives such as dynamite, or propellants as cordite. :slight_smile:

Production is very undemanding: the fats, heated with water in a pressurized tank, are decomposed into fatty acids and glycerol at the temperature of some175-200 С. This process is known as pressurized hydrolysis, but we have numerous other processes on our disposal, for example, interesterification, acydolysis (the most notable products are so called acetofats, incredibly usable for plastification of nitrocelulosis!) alcoholysis (an excellent method for fabrication of bio-Diesel fuel and glycerol, which in that case actually is representing a by-product!), polymerization, sulphatization, etc.

Of course, if you are interested for those highly intriguing processes, we will open a special thread - The Combat Chemistry. :smiley:

And now – back to our main theme in this thread! Fortunately, we have certain novelties connected with the wartime art. Their specific value is embedded in fact that they are reflecting the very same historical event – Japanese attack on Clark field - but from a completely different perspective.

Sato Kei – Air Raid on Clark Field, 1942 (watercolors and ink)

Painted in guache-opaque water color, this painting is a typical product of strictly naturalistic, visually correct school of Japanese art. Everything is indeed meticulously drawn, but the over-all impression is that the objects in painting are away from the spectator, suggesting an effect of isolation, although every part of the work has its pictorial value. Somehow nothing seems able to disturb the preemphasized order. Whatever the importance of this picture may be as a historical document, I regard it as a pretty calm and muted visual symphony.

Frede Vidar - The aftermath of the Japanese attack on Clark Field, 1941 (pencil and watercolors)

This sadly forgotten American artist was noted for his elegant, restrained calligraphy, using the pencil to shadow and draw at the same time. Perspective was slightly sacrificed to the artist’s inherent concept of array preservation, and restrained colors he chose did not restrain his emotional intensivity. He bravely felt entirely free to endow with pale colors he chose the objects he observed, because his cursive visual stenography, with little curving strokes, was light, swift, graceful, and seemingly artless. His virtuosity enhances the objective moment in the things he drew and painted, and the rapidity of his sketching has enabled him to capture moods and occurrences inaccessible to slower-working painters.

Well, that’s all for today, honorable ladies and gentlemen. In the meantime, as always – all the best! :wink:

Well, thank you both for your answer regarding the use of fat in explosives !
(and an exceptionnaly detailed one as always from our dear friend Librarian).
I guess that without the chemistry, there would have been much less ww2 history to discuss about !

Back to topic :

The japanese seemed to like these bombing views from the sky.
The first one is a depiction of the jap airforce bombing New-York, nothing less !
The other two shows that the Brits artist were a bit more “terre-à-terre” in their approach of the subject !:smiley:

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A few more from the axis.
Can’t seem to include the pics in the post other than an attachment link ?
I’ve read the FAQ section regarding that, but maybe I’m thechnology-deficient this morning ? That’s it I’m getting another coffee !

The last one is interesting, I guess they need all that paper to upgrade their Tank armors !:rolleyes:

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Die NSDAP sichert die volksgemeinschaft-ww2shots.jpg

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Windrider, you’re very welcome. :slight_smile:
As I said, I was confident other folk know more than I, regarding explosives.
Librarian, my Thanks for the detailed supporting data. :slight_smile:

Kindest Regards Gentlemen, Uyraell.

Very interesting stuff: thanks for sharing

here’s a few more axis posters.
Notice the nice happy nazi fraulein !
Little SA parade cutouts for children,
Also, a stamp representing a 1939 VW beetle, They said that every german citizen would get one at the end of the war…:rolleyes:

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Here’s a few more freom Germany and German-occupied countrys.
Even some good humor there on “It’s a long way to Rome” poster.
The caption explains the maximum speed of a snail compared to the allieds !
Poor general Clarck !:smiley:

Poor General Alexander too! :smiley:

I like how the Germans were warning about Americans destroying European culture in that last poster–we kinda did that with jazz and rock and roll after the war

Not to mention chewing gum and coca-cola…:mrgreen:

This one is from USA, 1939 or 1940

A little armored theme adds.First is a Fisher ad with M-26 “TIGER TAMER” tank, illustration by Dean Cornwell

“Better than a rabbit’s foot!” Fisher ad illustration by Dean Cornwell.

Patton in a John Hancock Insurance ad “He fought his battle in seven league boots”

And some Winchester ads,I like the hunting one.

And the pearl-handled revolvers with the notches for killing a few of Pancho Villa’s lieutenants…:mrgreen:

Better than a rabbit’s Foot … not by much.

It is good to see the advert though.

Many Thanks for the opportunity to see these.

Kind Regards, Uyraell.

With a Sherman going up against Tigers and Panthers I’d need all the luck I could get!

My thought entirely, Historian! :slight_smile:

I’ve never regarded the Sherman as a “good” tank, I regard it as merely barely adequate, and then only in the Pacific Theater. For Europe it was under-armoured, out-gunned, and by virtue of those faults, basically inadequate even in the Infantry Support role for which it was designed and intended. I Agree the Tank Destroyer doctrine of the US Army was equally at fault for the mis-employment of the Sherman, however.

Having said the above, I have to admit the old M4 Ronson (aka Sherman) is far from my favourite tank, and I’m inclined to think the M27 (derived from the T23 through T27 experimental series) would have been a better choice, for Europe at least. In that, I agree with Nickdfresh, as he has stated similar views on the M27 in another thread.

Kind Regards Historian, Uyraell.

I’d give the Sherman more credit in the Pacific theatre, where most Japanese tanks had thinner armor and smaller-caliber guns, but I think the use of the Sherman in Europe was based on assumptions that the Tiger and Panther wouldn’t be fielded as main battle tanks–a view that turned out to be wrong. The decision to delay design in heavier tanks made in 42/43 was the US’s biggest mistake in the war, although our air superiority seemed to compensate in 1944/45

Italian warning poster:

to any traitor…to any saboteur.

Other italian.

New weapons

Will laugh well the one whom laugh the last…