FANCIFUL CLAIMS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 August 1940, Page 5

FANCIFUL CLAIMS

BY GERMAN U-BOAT COMMANDERS EXPOSURE OF FANTASTIC REPORTS. AN INFORMATIVE ANALYSIS. (British Offlcial Wireless.) RUGBY. August 8. A partial explanation of grossly-exaggerated German claims relating to shipping sunk by submarines is thought to be offered by statements imide by captured members of the crew of Ul3, which was sunk -by British naval forces.

According to those prisoners the Ul3 sank 22,000 tons of shipping on one cruise in April. Comparing these dates of alleged sinking with the days on which ships were actually sunk, it seems that U-boat commanders claim a hit each time a torpedo is fired and sometimes when it isn’t. Thus members of the crew claimed to have sunk a destroyer in the Fair Island channel on April 17, and Zeesen. broadcasting in English to America on April 25, stated: “On April 17 a German submarine sank, of! the Shetlands, one destroyer of the Tribal class.” In fact there was no attack on any warship in that vicinity on or about that dale. The next claim made by the crew is well-founded, in that they said that on the same day the Ul3 sank a merchant vessel. On April 17 the Swainby, a vessel of about 5000 tons, was sunk without warning by torpedo. During the night of April 25-26, the crew stated two torpedoes had been fired. If this is true both must have missed their targets, because there is no record of any ship being attacked that night. On April 28 a tanker is claimed to have been sunk. On that day the tanker Scottish American was struck by a torpedo but not sunk. She was brought safely to port. Thus on this cruise, in which 22,000 tons are claimed, only 5000 were actually sunk. It is interesting to note that the figure claimed is approximately in the same proportion to that sunk as is - the German figure for the total tonnage claimed to the total tonnage actually sunk. Though it is not pretended that the German success against shipping is slight, so far the highest figure of tonnage sunk in any period of four weeks does not reach half the total sunk in the peak four weeks of the last war.

In spite of German boasts headlined in the Nazi Press yesterday that their fleet and air arm had exceeded the successes scored against Britain by the imperial navy in 1917, the figures show that in the single month of April in that year the German navy sank 881,000 tons, being the highest total reached, whereas the present peak, the four weeks from June 2 to 30, shows that 377,260 tons of British, Allied and neutral shipping fell victims to all forms of German action. The next four-week period, July 1 to 28, shows a slight reduction. During that period 310,249 tons was sunk by the combined efforts of submarines, Üboats, air and mine attacks.

SWEDISH SHIP SUNK STOCKHOLM, August 9. The ship Atos was torpedoed and sank. She was bound for Glasgow from Sweden. One passenger was killed. All the others were saved. LINER PRESUMED LOST RANGOON, August 9. The liner Kemmendine is three weeks overdue and is presumed lost.