ON THE SEA FRONT

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 61, 9 September 1941, Page 6

ON THE SEA FRONT

SEVEN NAVIES HELP BRITAIN

CONSIDERABLE COMBINED

STRENGTH

RUGBY, September 7,

Seven navies of Europe, not including the Soviet navy, are fighting side by side with Britain, and though the Royal Navy shoulders the lion's share of the task, the combined strength of the ships of the other seven provides no negligible assistance.

The figures of submarines cannot be disclosed, nor can the figures of the Greek and Yugoslav navies, but the grand total of ships manned and to be manned next August, including the classes undisclosed, reaches the figure of 187.

The Free French navy provides 42 ships of all classes, the Royal Norwegian navy 58, the Royal Netherlands navy 39 (including one cruiser and four destroyers and torpeda-boats), the Polish navy nine, and the Royal Belgian navy six. The personnel of the seven navies aiding Britain totals 1230 officers and 13,500 men.

The 'assistance of the Allied merchant navies is also considerable In July, 1941, there were 1617 ships aiding (the British, with a total tonnage of 7,750,000, Norway heading the list with 719 ships of a tonnage of 3,250,000. Their total losses to the end of June, 1941, were 335 ships of a tonnage of 1,500.000.—8.0. W.