The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Tuesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1943 WAR AGAINST U-BOATS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 13, 8 October 1943, Page 4

The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Tuesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1943 WAR AGAINST U-BOATS

A MOST encouraging and hopeful statement of the war against the U-boats is contained in the August statement issued by President Roosevelt and Mr Churchill. In May, June and July more than 90 of these craft met their doom at the Allies' hands. This is an average of one a day. At the same time. Allied shipbuilding" tonnage exceeded losses by three million tons. Such figures are the best news of the Battle of the Atlantic since it commenced. The Germans have pinned their faith in underwater craft to deal Britain a death blow. Losses have been grievous both in the Navy and the Mercantile Marine, but never have gallant crews faltered. If a ship were sunk its survivors were ready to go to sea when the call came, and prepared with the greatest fighting spirit to defeat the enemy. The dreadful sec quence of losses has been overcome in spite of the extensive warfare of these months. For instance, the Sicilian operations required 2500 ships and only 50,000 tons went down, but the U-boats that set up a counter-offensive suffered heavily. In the Atlantic, the Arctic, and the Mediterranean, wherever the U-boats hunt in packs, they face grim men aided by the best devices of modern science to detect and destroy them, and the war is relentlessly waged. In the great shipbuilding yards of Britain and the United States men unceasingly toil to repair and overcome inevitable losses. The battle goes well for the Allies but it is not yet over. The Germans have still many submarines built or building, but a loss of one a day must be something more than can be eventually met by Admiral Doenitz.