Nav War Map No. 3 - World War 2 in the North Sea Area

This enormous WW2-era map of the North Atlantic and North Sea was published by the US Navy's Educational Services Section to educate sailors about the Battle of the Atlantic and their role in it, as well as the larger campaign against Germany prior to the D-Day landings.

This map is part of a series of 6 educational posters designed by the US Navy to explain the various combat theatres in which American sailors and marines were fighting. Other maps in the series focus on the Mediterranean, the Southwest Pacific, the North Pacific, and the South China Sea. There is also a world map in the series.

This is generally considered to be the most striking poster in the series due to the clever use of arrows and the richness of the decoration. Dozens of charmingly illustrated American and British ships are shown in combat with German ships and submarines, while squadrons of planes provide cover and launch bombing raids against German industry on the continent. A blood-red arrow shows the German naval invasion of Norway in April 1940. A much larger series of arrows in a friendly blue colour show the breaking of the "U-Boat Scourge on the Allies' supply lines" thanks to the arrival of the US Navy's destroyers and escort carriers. These arrows lead to Britain, Iceland, the Mediterranean, and to Russia, the primary destinations for American supply convoys.

The epic saga of the sinking of the Bismarck, the most powerful battleship produced by Germany during the war, is also told on the poster through a series of numbered vignettes. The first vignette (located off the coast of Norway) shows the Bismarck and her escorts leaving the Baltic Sea for the first time on a mission to raid Allied convoys in May 1941. The second vignette (north of Iceland) notes the first Allied sighting of the Bismarck by two British cruisers, H.M.S. Suffolk and H.M.S. Norfolk. The third vignette shows the first naval engagement against the Bismarck in which H.M.S. Hood was sunk and H.M.S. Prince of Wales was badly damaged. The fourth vignette shows a Catalina seaplane spotting the wounded Bismarck two days later, desperately heading for the safety of Occupied France. It also shows the Bismarck on fire after being struck by a swordfish torpedo. The final vignette shows the Bismarck's destruction, just five days after leaving the Baltic Sea on its first mission, after being cornered by a British fleet and taking multiple hits by torpedoes launched by H.M.S. Dorsetshire. This was an important morale-boosting victory for the Allied navies, so it is no surprise that the story is illustrated and described in such detail.

A panel of text to the right of the map lists the major events of the war from Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939 to the breaking of the German U-Boat blockade and the defeat of the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain in 1943. Unsurprisingly given the intended audience, American contributions are emphasized from 1941 onwards, starting with the passing of the Lend-Lease Act.

All of the posters in the 'Nav Map' series are not only educational, but are also extremely attractive and evocative. Sweeping multi-coloured arrows show Allied and Axis offensives and counter-offensives. Planes and ships, both in an out of combat, are often illustrated on the map to provide extra decoration. Terrain is drawn in relief as if on a 3-D model. Just enough facts and historical details are added to provide interest, but not so many as to make the posters overwhelming. In all, these are masterful examples of educational poster design which have hardly been rivalled since.

Printed colour. Laid down on archival linen. [Tube] [EUR1541]