WORK OF NAVY

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 124, 7 March 1941, Page 5

WORK OF NAVY

DIFFICULT TASKS PERFORMED. EFFECT OF FRENCH DEFECTION. TIE VIE VI BY THE FIRST LORD. (United Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, March 6. Introducing the Navy Estimates in the House of Commons, the First Lord of the Admiralty (Air A. V. Alexander) said that although the documents to be laid before the House contained only tokens, the Fleet was no token fleet of phantom ships. British commitments necessitated a certain absolute strength in various classes of ships essential to the full exercise of sea power. These absolute needs had been • greatly magnified by the collapse of France, which had altered fundamentally the whole fabric of British strategy. “In brief,’’ Air Alexander said, “the collapse of Franco robbed Britain of the help of the second naval Power in Europe and gave Germany a new naval ally in Italy, which was geographically well placed across .the Mediterranean. In addition, Germany gained ports and bases from which submarine journeys to the Atlantic were more than halved, and which allowed German aircraft to prey upon convoys far out at sea. This new threat which loomed up almost overnight, first occurred when the Navy had just completed the task of evacuating thousands of troops from Norway and France in cirsumstances which it was not designed to meet and which no prudent naval commander chooses to undertake. Heavy losses had been expected, and they were, indeed, considerable, especially in damage to destroyers. The Building Programme. “The Navy, therefore, was seriously depleted at the very mom'ent when a serious problem had become more complex and more difficult with the exit of France from the war and the entry of Italy into it. By what seemed to me in those dark days very slow degrees, but which, on looking back, appear as a swinging stride, we immeasurably improved our position. Thanks to the very great effort by the men in the workshops and the repair yards, the damaged ships were put back into service. “Some delay in the building programme has been experienced because events following the collapse of France inevitably held up new construction. The shipyards, however, have been making great efforts,' and with no fewer than 154 now factories or extensions to existing works completed or put in hand, we are in a far better position than I would have dared to expect in view :of -the adverse situation .-nine months ago. Our long-term programmes of construction are maturing, and a high output of short-term construction has been reached.’’ Fleet Air Arm Victories. Speaking of the Fleet Air Arm, Air Alexander said that the exploit of Taranto would never fade from British memory, and he gave a “catalogue of victims”"which had fallen to this arm since the war began. “They have destroyed one enemy battleship, one enemy cruiser, three destroyers, four submarines, four other naval vessels, and 15 transport or supply ships,” he said. “They have also damaged at least two enemy battleships, two cruisers, four destroyers, four miscellaneous craft, and .20 transport or supply ships.” Of the relentless war carried out by British submarines, Air Alexander said that these had no hope of meeting the enemy fleet at sea nor the streams of his merchant traffic, and to obtain even a bare chance of coming within striking distance of enemy craft they must press in close to his coasts, accepting the hazards of minefields and thieldvpatrolled, confined waters. > In spite of this, the submarines had had the satisfaction of destroying something like 100 enemy warships and supply ships. Air Alexander paid a special tribute to the work of Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham’s Mediterranean force, and he detailed its varied tasks, which he compared to tho “business of a veritable world transport agency.” Protecting Trade Routes. Turning to what he described as “the greatest of all tasks laid upon the Navy,” the protection of trade routes, Air Alexander said that since Germany had had French bases this was much more intense and widespread. Up to May, 1940, the average British, Allied and neutral losses had been 40,000 tons ! weekly. For the next seven months the losses had averaged about 90,000 tons weekly. During the last 11 weeks the average had been about 51,000 tons. “I do not attribute the reduction entirely to the various measures wo have taken to improve the situation. Do not lot us forget that we must expect, the enemy to make heavier attacks and that we may receive grievous blows.” Air Alexander" said that the United •States destroyers “which in our hour of greatest need they handed over to us, are in service, and some have already delivered attacks against enemy submarines.” Attacks on convoysi “Not every raider met has lived to raid another day, although I am not going to say anything in public,” said My Alexander. “There have been one or two occasions when a raider has encountered, a convoy’ with inferior protection and has inflicted a. relatively’ heavy loss, though nothing like up to the claims of the enemy. To see those episodes in the right perspective, it must be remembered that for every’ convoy thus attacked, scores come through without molestation; and that great armies with very large equipment have been successfully shepherded by the Navy to the Middle East, without the loss of a single ship.” The Admiralty’, continued Mr Alexander, never relaxed the constant attack on U-boats. AVith the expansion of the reconnaissance forces of the

Coastal Command, the U-boat commanders/ would find the watch from above more difficult to avoid. Escorts were being increased, providing greater protection for convoys; and to these advantages would he added all improvements in anti-submarine tactics which experience and experiment suggested. “Lot me say that although it is not our policy to make regular statements: w about U-boat sinkings, we continue to inflict losses upon enemy submarine flotillas. The defence weapons provided for merchant are being increased and improved, especially anti-aircraft armament; and the weso-v lute use of guns has often preserved them from danger. In December there were three cases when . merchantmen! fought duels with submarines and had the host of the encounter. Up tc the present, 27 aeroplanes, attempting to~ bomb merchantmen have been brought down hv fiyc from the ships.' Fifteen others have probably been destroyed.” Of merchant ship sinkings and replacements. Mr Alexander said: “By new construction, chartering, and capture, more than two-thirds of the British! tonnage lost has been replaced. Moreover, wo have abundant chartered ships of States overrun by the enemy, some of which had not boost previously used in the wide oceans. A great deal of salvage has been done. • and up to December 31 more than 1,000.000 tons had been salvaged.”