SHIPS LADEN WITH BRITISH EXPORTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 237, 5 October 1940, Page 10

SHIPS LADEN WITH BRITISH EXPORTS.

CQWOY AT LISBON.

Enemy Loss Of Nine U-boats

And Destroyer.

| United Press Association. —Copyright. (Reed. 10.30 a.m.) LONDON, Oct. 4. A message from Lisbon states that convoyed by warships, 15 cargo vessels, 'including some Portuguese ships, have arrived laden with British exports, among which were 40,000 tons of Cardiff coal.

The Admiralty states that seven Üboats and two Italian submarines have been sunk by naval and air units in the past few weeks. <-

It is also officially stated that the submarine Osiris torpedoed and sank an Italian destroyer in the Adriatic on September 22.

German long-range guns from France shelled a British convoy in the Straits of Dover at dawn. Two salvoes of three shells each were fired from near Cap Gris Nez as the convoy, which carried its own balloon' barrage, ploughed through rough seas swept by a southwesterly gale. Great columns of water shot" up. The gunfire shook houses and awakened people living on the Kent coast.

According to « British Official Wireless message the Admiralty announces that in addition to seven German U-boats and two Italian submarines sunk, others were damaged.

The communique adds: "It has never been the policy of the Admiralty to announce successes against U-boats when they occur, or at regular intervals, since sucn announcements would be of operational value to the enenry to know. Moreover, the moral effect of the disappearance of a U-boat without any indication of the cause of the los.s is a potent factor among U-boat personnel."

An interesting light is thrown on this communique by a report received to-day from Balkan sources that the published statistics of certain German insurance companies reveal that the average life of an officer or man serving in German submarines is 02 days. ,