FIGHTING THE SUBMARINE.

Evening Star, Issue 23832, 12 March 1941, Page 6

FIGHTING THE SUBMARINE.

There is something essentially British and heartening in the words of Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, who, in reference to the German threat of a spring offensive, stated; “ A good many springs will come and go, and Britain will remain mistress of the seas.” The growth of the Royal Navy in the face of all the opposition the Nazis can offer against warships and naval dockyards is a sufficient indication of the trend of the conflict at sea. Behind all this is the hopeful news of American shipping aid, which, it may be surmised, is intended chiefly for beating down the submarine menace while too largo a portion of the British Fleet is engaged in the Mediterranean for it to be possible to give adequate protection to vessels of .the merchant marine. According to a cablegram published last night, a high authority in Washington said tho people of the British Empire would soon have the fullest cause to sing “ God bless America,” when streams of American cruisers, tankers and other naval units began to cross the Atlantic, swelling the British naval forces at a time when most needed. It stands to reason that the United States, a most business-like country’, has no intention of sending shiploads of war materials out into the Atlantic if it cannot also provide some asurance that most of them will reach their destination. It will not, be the American way to allow Nazi surface and submarine raiders to take heavy toll of the fruits of the nation’s industry. Numbers of a new type of fagt anti-submarine craft are said to be passing immediately from America into British hands, and it can be expected that these will help in some measure to keep down British shipping losses until such time as the increasing aid makes the Western Ocean a certain death trap for enemy undersea raiders. In these circumstances the high shipping losses recorded for the week ended March 3, regrettable though they are, need cause no fear that the outcome will be affected by the apparent Nazi intensification of the ■war at sea.

Despite the precarious position of Italy, Mussolini is still able to serve his Fuhrer by diverting British warships from the Atlantic.' This, indeed, seems to be the chief reason why the Germans are endeavouring by every means in their power, even at the risk of thinning out their forces to a dangerous degree, to bolster up their weakening allies. For the time being the issue hinges largely on the Battle of the Atlantic, which will be fought in British and American factories. Hitler cannot hope to win if Britain’s absolute mastery is maintained in that sea. As well as naval craft, more aeroplanes will be forthcoming to help our ships, more bombers to blast the invasion xmrts and strike the weapons from Hitler’s hands, and more tonnage from the shipyards. It is interesting to note that the Lend and Lease Bill contains no prohibition against releasing American warships to Britain or any other nation. America realises that her aid will be a problem not only of production, hut also of supr ply. New ships are being built rapidly for British use as well as her own, for the big supplies envisaged must get through Hitler’s counter - blockade. Certain features of United States shipbuilding recall the conditions of 1917. In the spring of that year the losses of Allied merchant tonnage were at their maximum, but in the autumn the great building crusade in North America began to gather momentum. By way of exemplifying the speed with which the industry there can get into its stride, it may be recalled that one steamer was launched within 38 days from the laying of the keel. In the knowledge that Great Britain needs more ships of all kinds in the shortest time possible, the Americans will not fail in the task they have set themselves. Democracy is determined to triumph over upstart dictatorships.