LOSSES AT SEA

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 December 1940, Page 5

LOSSES AT SEA

HEAVY TOTAL IN LATEST WEEK ABOVE AVERAGE FOR WAR. BUT ABOUT HALF OF THOSE FOR WORST WEEK. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, December 3. Merchant shipping losses for the week ended November 24 comprised 19 British ships of 75,500 tons, and three Allied ships of 12,500 tons. These sinkings are above the weekly average for the war, but are about half those for the worst week. They will come as no surprise to those who have followed the statements of various British Ministers, who in the past few days have spoke.n of the problem as serious. The Germans have not had matters all their own way. In three days last week, they lost 26,000 tons of merchant shipping. A naval authority, commented that the figures were serious, being 24,000 tons above the weekly average since the outbreak of war, but the increasing U-boat menace was one with which the British Navy fully recognised it would have to wage a stern fight.

AMERICAN REPORTS CALLS FROM SHIPS ATTACKED. NEW YORK, December 2. The Mackay radio intercepted distress calls from three British vessels at about the-same location in the North Atlantic, 100 miles west of Ireland. An unidentified craft which gave the call letters GKLF reported that it was being attacked at 55 degrees 3 minutes north, 18 degrees 40 minutes west, at 4.53 a.m. G.M.T. The British steamer Lady Glanely (5500 tons) was torpedoed at 55 degrees north, 20 degrees west at 3.15 a.m., G.M.T., and the s.s. Goodleigh (5500 tons) was torpedoed at 55 degrees 2 minutes north, 18 degrees 45 minutes west at 5.45 a.m. G.M.T.

The Mackay radio also reports that messages were picked up showing that attacks were made by aircraft and submarines on five more ships—Yugoslav steamer Cetvrti (1940 tons), bombed at 51 degrees 30 minutes north, 11 degrees 52 minutes west; the s.s. Victor Ross (11,188 tons), attacked by a submarine at 56 degrees 4 minutes north, 18 degrees 30 minutes west, the Kilgerran Castle (276 tons), bombed 25 miles south-west of Kinsale Head; the Loch Ranza (4960 tons), with the shipwrecked crew of another vessel on board, torpedoed and sinking at 54 degrees 37. minutes north. 18 degrees 54 minutes west, and another unknown vessel which also sent an SOS message from lhe same vicinity. The Mackay radio reports that the British steamer Whendrick signalled that she had been torpedoed at 55 degrees north. 15 degrees 40 minutes west;