"Liberator of Conquered Nations" Vintage WWII U.S. Army Air Force Poster, 1943

Presented is a vintage WWII U.S. Army Air Force poster of a B-24 Liberator bomber plane. The poster was illustrated by Jo Kotula and published by the Recruiting Publicity Bureau in October of 1943. The poster depicts B-24 Liberator bomber planes flying through a smoke-filled sky, with land and sea below. The poster text reads “Liberator of Conquered Nations” in orange and black block letters across the clouds at top.  The text “The Army Air Forces salute a tough, hard-hitting ‘ace’” appears in white block letters at the bottom. 

The B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber that entered service in 1941. A highly modern aircraft for its day, it first saw combat operations with the Royal Air Force, through Lend-Lease with Great Britain. After America entered the war, production of the B-24 increased drastically. By the end of the conflict, over 18,500 B-24s had been constructed, making it the most-produced heavy bomber in history and a powerful symbol of US industrial might. 

Employed in all theaters by the US Army Air Forces and US Navy, the Liberator routinely served alongside the more rugged Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. The Liberators flew faster, higher and farther than the older B-17, thanks to greater fuel capacity and an innovative low-drag wing design.

In addition to service as heavy bomber, the B-24 played a critical role as a maritime patrol aircraft and aided in closing the gap in air power during the Battle of the Atlantic. Liberators also served as long-range transports, under the designation of C-87 Liberator Express.

Artist Jo Kotula (1910-1998) began his illustrator career in the early 1930s. His talent was in high demand; his work appeared in national magazines such as Saturday Evening Post, Liberty, Colliers, Newsweek, Air Trails, and Popular Science. His cover paintings for Model Airplane News began in 1932 and continued for 38 years. During that span he created more than 400 cover illustrations. During World War II, Kotula was hired to illustrate posters and Air Force training manuals. He specialized in sleek and modern black and white renderings of aircraft and cloudscapes. Kotula was a founding member of the American Society of Aviation Artists.

CONDITION: 

Original color lithograph. The color is still very vibrant. Crease at centerfold and small creases throughout in the outer margins. Light surface toning to outer margins. Signed by the artist in the lithographic stone “Jo Kotula.” The U.S. Army logo is printed in white at the bottom right of the composition. "P-X-4-RPB-10-11-43-7500" and the Recruiting Publicity Bureau United States Army logo is printed in the bottom right margin. 

Poster is presented unframed, as-is. Unframed Dimensions:  ​​42 1/2" H x 31"W.