LOSS OF BRITISH SUBMARINES

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22922, 19 January 1940, Page 9

LOSS OF BRITISH SUBMARINES

HAZARDOUS NATURE OF SERVICE

CONTRAST WITH U-BOAT SINKINGS (BRITISH OFFICIAL 'WIRELESS.) (Received January 18, 10.50 a.m.) RUGBY, January 17The three British submarines which, as the Admiralty announced yesterday, must now be regarded as having been lost, are the first submarine losses by enemy action in 18 weeks of warfare, and it is noted that the Germans are only aware of their success against two of them—the Starfish, and the Undine. These losses contrast remarkably with the German submarine losses, which are conservatively estimated at about 12 times this number. This relative immunity from loss is not caused by any policy of holding back British submarines.

The Admiralty announces as missing the officers and men of the submarines Seahorse, Undine, and Starfish. It states that the German wireless has announced that some members of the crews of the Undine and Starfish have bedh rescued, but the names of these are not yet available. The crew of the Seahorse consisted of five officers and 34 ratings, the Undine, four officers and 26 ratings, and the Starfish five officers and 35 ratings. An official announcement refers to the particularly hazardous service on which these vessels had been engaged. The nature of the hazards may be gauged from the graphic account of the experiences of an unnamed British submarine which struggled home after being temporarily disabled by a heavy enemy attack in German waters.

• More recently, the Ursula, a sister-ship of the Undine, and the Salmon, a sister-ship of the Starfish, achieved successes in attacks on German warships, which must be set against these losses. All three of the craft lost were of the small type, which' is suited for operations in narrow, shallow waters. German Losses Meanwhile, the extent of German submarine losses has been confirmed from an unexpected source—a German propaganda broadcast front Frankfurt. The commentator, referring to these losses, said: “We need not pay attention to Churchill’s tall stories. We have plenty of submarines still, to say nothing of those being turned out in the dockyards. The wish of the English is father to the thought. They say that they have sunk 70. If they had' said 35 it would be a bit nearer the truth.” In fact, the Allies have never claimed to have sunk 70 German Üboats. The only aggregate claims made were last Saturday by the French Minister for Marine (M. Campinchi),, who estimated that altogether 30 German submarines had been sunk. So far fron\ throwing doubt on the Allied statements, the broadcast has served to confirm their moderation and accuracy. The “Manchester Guardian” comments: “At a moderate estimate fully half the U-boats with which Germany began the war have been destroyed by the British and French navies. The submarine threat has been brought under control, and it is in the light of that predominant fact that the present losses in an exceptionally risky enterprise must be viewed. They are, moreover, handsomely offset by figures now available of the success of the convoy system, 6363 slpps having been safely escorted and Only 12 lost.”