NOT ONE-SIDED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20071, 18 October 1939, Page 6

NOT ONE-SIDED

| CHURCHILL’S REVIEW j U-BOAT CAMPAIGN ; MERCANTILE MARINE LOSSES BY GERMANS ! (Elec. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Reed. Oct. 18, 1.45 p.m.) LONDON, Oct. 17. j During his statement, in the House of Commons to-day concerning the ! sinking of the Royal Oak at Scapa ! Flow on Saturday, the First Lord of j the Admiralty, Mr. Winston Churchill, said it appeared that the U-boat fired ! two starboard torpedoes, one of which I hit the Royal. Oak’s bow. There was | a muffled explosion, attributed to in- ; ternal causes, and the ship's store of ! inflammables was flooded, j “Twenty minutes later the U-boat i I fired three or four torpedoes,” he ! ! continued. "These, striking in quick i | succession, caused the ship to capsize ! I and sink.” ! “The Royal Oak was lying at the extreme end of the harbour and there- ! fore many of the officers and men j I were drowned before rescue work ! could be organised. About 800 lives j were lost. “Serious as it is. it does not affect : | the margin of security in heavy i vessels, which remains ample,” added | Mr. Churchill. “An intensive search of the anchorI age has not yet yielded results, but it ! I : is clear that after a certain time, the I harbour will be pronounced clear. All i the necessary measures are being ' I taken to increase the protection, which ; I proved effectual in the last war. Campaign Intensified . j “The U-boat warfare was intensified ! ;at the end of last week. Four ships, J ■ including two French, were sunk be- ! i tween Saturday and Monday. Three j ; | others were attacked, but escaped. | I “It should not be supposed that the j i J losses are one-sided. Four U-boats ! ! were certainly destroyed on Friday, j ’ including two of the largest and latest | : ocean-going types in the German j navy. Nothing like this rate of de- : struction was attained at any moment i I in the last war. > “It is estimated that 13 U-boats have j been sunk during the war and five j seriously damaged and several others j ■ damaged. These figures are probably j •an under-statement. In addition j • I two-thirds of the U-boats engaged in j | raiding have suffered attacks from | j depth charges. Third Sunk or Damaged “The French Navy has also been J ' active and certainly has taken its toll. I ' | but it is not for me to give figures on ' j this subject. i ! “We believe that, from about CO , : U-boats ready for action at the beginning of the war, about a third already have been sunk or seriously damaged. ■ The latest, ocean-going type is represented in the proportion of about one. j fifth of those put out of action. We! j actually hold survivors from three of i I this higher class. Such skilled crews j ! could not easily be replaced.” | Mr. Churchill added that the ; U-boats had succeeded so far in | sinking 150,000 tons of Britain’s and ! 21.000,000 tons of mercantile shipping. To the losses could be added 18,000 I tons as a result of mines or accidents. I | Britain had captured 29,000 tons of I shipping from the enemy and had | | benefited by the commissioning of new j j ships totalling 104,000 tons. “It will be seen that, while our i ! mercantile marine remains practically j | unaffected by the U-boat warfare, the! j losses inflicted on the enemy, if con- j j tinned, could certainly not be en- j | dured.” lie declared.