SHIPPING LOSSES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 March 1941, Page 5

SHIPPING LOSSES

START OF HITLER’S SEA OFFENSIVE LONDON NOT UNDULY PESSIMISTIC. NEW COUNTER MEASURES SUCCESSFUL. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day. 9.20 a.m.) RUGBY, March 11. The mercantile losses due to enemy action, for the week ended at midnight on March 2, are officially stated by the Admiralty as: British, 20 ships of a tonnage of 102,871; Allied, eight ships of 41,970 tons and neutral, one ship of 3197 tons. The total is 29 ships of 147,938 tons. The communique ‘ adds that German and Italian claims in the same week totalled 432,500 tons. While the week’s losses may be taken as pointing to the start of Hitler’s promised spring offensive at sea, responsible quarters in London do not take an unduly pessimistic view of the situation, especially in the light of the improvement in Britain’s countermeasures. No details of these measures are given, but it can be stated that they produced particularly successful results recently. NAVAL BUILDING DESTROYERS IN CANADIAN YARDS. BIG EXPANSION PROGRAMME. I By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) OTTAWA. March 10. The Minister of Supply. Mr. Howe, announced that Canada is ready to build destroyers for Britain. Experts were on route from England. Mr. Howe said the bottleneck was labour. There were at present 20.000 engaged in shipbuilding throughout the country compared with 1500 before the war. The Government was investigating the possibility of increasing the capacity of shipyards on the Pacific coast. It is announced in London that Canada intends to attain the following objectives in 1941: The provision of 25 a>r souadrons for overseas service: the present strength of 36.000 men in the ah' training scheme is to be doubled and home operations strengthened: the Navy is to be increased to 413 ships and 27.000 mon bv March, 1942. compared with 175 ships and 15.000 men pared with 175 ships and 15.000 men at present: and the construction of long range bombers. Canada is also to concentrate on producing machines not obtainable in the United States.