A Collection of Four “NAVWARMAP”s
Cartographer:
Bureau of Naval Personnel Training Aids
Date of Creation:
1944
Four of six propaganda “Nav War Maps” issued in 1944 by the U.S. Navy, including five focusing on different theatre of war and a sixth providing a global overview. All are visually compelling, with vibrant colors and energetic graphic design - most notably the use of bold arrows to indicate movements of the opposing forces.
NAVWARMAP 1
Highlighting the strategic importance of the Mediterranean, which “offers many approaches to Fortress Europe”. It also emphasizes Allied successes there during the Second World War, giving particular attention to the role played by massive Allied fleets in supporting the invasions of North Africa (1942) and Sicily (1943).
NAVWARMAP 2
This map depicts the "South China Sea Area" and shows the vital importance of the natural resources of the region. Shown also are several of the battles that occurred in and around the Indonesian Archipelago
NAVWARMAP 3
This map of the North Atlantic and North Sea, published just prior to the Normandy landings, illustrates the hunt for the German battleship Bismark and the success of the Arctic convoys. A label over England reads “The R.A.F. and the A.A.F. control the industrial heart of Europe from England, the world's most powerful air base”, and streams of planes show the targets of bombing campaigns in Europe
NAVWAR MAP 4
Highlighting events across the North Pacific, beginning with the Japanese strikes of late 1941 and early 1942. The attack on Pearl Harbor depicts the island of Oahu entirely consumed by flames, and a sequence of events culminating in the American recapture of Attu and Kiska in mid-1943, which “ended Jap occupation in the Western Hemisphere, and in turn opened the NORTH PACIFIC ROAD TO TOKYO”. Insets include a clever diagram of the Battle of Midway and a map of the Battle of Attu. A chart lists examples of “Japanese Aggression” as far back as 1895, emphasizing that the attacks of 1941 were only the latest in a long pattern. It is interesting to see such emphasis placed on events in the North Pacific, whereas today the “island hopping” campaign in the South Pacific receives most of the attention.