Un-silencing ‘The Most Silent Section of "The Silent Service"': The Portrayal of Royal Navy Submarines and Submariners in The Illustrated London News, 1939-1945

This article explores the portrayal of Royal Navy submarines, their crews, and depot ships in the Illustrated London News during the Second World War. Through an examination of this newspaper, it argues that Britain was shown to have a technologically advanced and potent submarine service. The coverage in the ILN was partly didactic, but also reassuring, demonstrating to the newspaper’s readers that Britain and its allies were capable of winning the war. The ILN was thus a conduit through which the nation’s morale could be boosted by helping to instil a sense of pride and confidence in the country’s submarine service’s capabilities.