1944 NavWar Map No. 3 – World War II in the North Sea Area
DESCRIPTION
NavWar Map no. 3 highlights the North Sea and surrounding regions as the critical staging ground for the Allied assault on Nazi Germany. Issued in 1944, it was intended to orient servicemen to the immense logistical and strategic challenges of maintaining supply lines across the Atlantic and into Britain, which served as the springboard for the invasion of continental Europe.
The emphasis is on how the U.S. Navy, working alongside the Royal Navy, overcame the deadly menace of German U-boats in order to keep the lifeline of men, weapons, and food flowing into Britain, thus making the D-Day landings and the liberation of Western Europe possible.
The MAP is striking for its sweeping blue arrows across the Atlantic, showing convoys streaming from North America to British ports. Red arcs mark the prowling zones of German U-boats, while illustrations depict aerial battles, depth-charge attacks, and convoy escorts. Important ports such as Liverpool, London, and Cherbourg are noted, along with routes for bombers flying from England into occupied Europe. The coastline of France glows with heavy bombing symbols, visually reinforcing the air offensive that preceded the 1944 landings. A prominent inscription across the Atlantic reads: “Our Navy breaks the U-Boat scourge of the Allies’ supply lines with destroyers, destroyer escorts, and escort carriers,” making the naval victory over the submarine threat a centerpiece of the map’s story.
the North Sea and surrounding waters were the decisive battleground for control of Europe’s western approaches. The Battle of the Atlantic, fought from 1939 to 1945, was the longest continuous military campaign of the war, and by 1943 Allied forces had turned the tide against German submarines. By mid-1944, this secure sea bridge allowed for the massive troop and materiel buildup in Britain that culminated in Operation Overlord and the Normandy invasion. The map underscores that without naval supremacy in the North Atlantic and North Sea, the liberation of Europe could not have been achieved.
About the NavWar Map Series
The NavWar Map series, produced in 1944 by the U.S. Bureau of Naval Personnel and printed by the Government Printing Office, represents one of the most ambitious visual educational projects of World War II. Issued as a set of six large-format pictorial wall charts, each measuring approximately 41 x 59 inches, the maps were designed to orient American servicemen to the global nature of the conflict, the geography of key theaters, and the Navy’s essential role in achieving victory. Distributed through the Educational Services Section in Washington, D.C., these maps blended dramatic graphics with accessible text, statistics, and timelines, turning complex military campaigns into striking visual narratives.
CONDITION
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