Poster, 'Salute the Airman'

This Second World War poster was one of 150,000 posters, window stickers, grille cards and strips produced in 31 different designs and sizes for the Victory Loan campaign of August 1944. The Victory Loan aimed to raise £40 million over a five-week period (28 August to 4 October) to help meet the costs of New Zealand's war expenditure, which was at its highest in the year of 1943-44.

This poster was considered 'campaign ammunition' and would have been seen in shop and business windows, railway stations, hotel lobbies, post offices, sport gatherings and campaign meetings. The large scale of the Victory Loan required a 'Campaign Handbook' which detailed the importance of posters and how to use them.

The image in this poster is particularly romantic with its heroic-looking airman gazing up at the machinery of war in the sky.