As an official war artist, Bone spent some time in a variety of naval shipping during the Second World War, including submarines. In this painting he has created a dynamic composition, contrasting artificial and natural light. The position of the viewer is implied by the hand on the ladder of someone standing down inside the boat in a yellow glow. The figure above is tattooed and naked to the chest; he is preparing to climb the ladder towards the daylight at the top of the conning tower, where a third figure can be seen. The conning tower was a submarine's link with the outside world. The colours in the picture are graduations of yellow from dark to light. S-class submarines carried the first radar sets for surface and air search. Stephen Bone was a prolific Admiralty war artist and a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR).