War bonds ad (1940s) by Powell

From the Roger Hill collection. Heritage attributes the art to Bob Powell and Harvey Comics from sometime in the 1940s. "We have no definitive information on where this saw print, but a longtime comic art oracle tells us this piece was in the first round of Harvey art that resurfaced in the 1980s."

I've not found the published version in Harvey comics from the war, although it might be in War Victory Comics, a single Harvey issue devoted to promotingTreasury Department war bonds. That said, a panel in Harvey's All-New Comics #3 is a flipped image of the perspective from the cockpit behind the crewman's head.

This advertisement is the best war comic art I've seen by Bob Powell. The cockpit perspective puts you right in the plane watching the aerial battle. That perspective reminds some of the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars. Look closely and you'll see swastikas on the roofs of the industrial facility being bombed.

Historical note: The fighter in the background is the P-38 Lightning, which saw extensive service during the war. Its versatility enabled it take on numerous roles -- fighter, fighter bomber, long-range escort, night fighter, pathfinder for bombers, and reconnaissance. It was the primary long-range fighter until P-51 Mustangs with superior range arrived. The plane was the only US fighter in large-scale production throughout the war from Pearl Harbor to the surrender of Japan. It also was the first military aircraft to fly faster than 400 mph. (Wikipedia)

Perhaps its most famous mission is the shoot down of Admiral Yamamoto, commander and chief strategist of the Japanese Navy, during an inspection tour in April 1943. The mission was called Operation Vengeance because Yamamoto was the architect of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The US military had broken the Japanese naval codes, giving them his flight path and schedule. The P-38 was the only fighter with the range for the interception over Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea. (National World War II Museum, Wikipedia)

A Joe Kubert Unknown Soldier page in my gallery depicts Yamamoto's plane going down (https://tinyurl.com/mrfbdypp). In the story Unknown Soldier convinces the Japanese that their codes are still secure.