ROYAL NAVY’S EXPLOITS

Greymouth Evening Star, 4 March 1943, Page 5

ROYAL NAVY’S EXPLOITS

DEFEATING THE U-BOATS

FIRST LORD’S REVIEW

RUGBY, March 3. The activities and successes of the British Naval Forces from Madagascar to Dieppe, from north Russia to America, in spite of the day and night struggle against the greatest threat ever experienced to our sea lanes by U-boats, was one of the features of a speech by Mr. Alexander, in the Commons, when presenting the Navy Estimates. Reviewing the main developments of the U-boat campaign in the past 12 months, Mr. Alexander said the position seemed under control in the last half of 1941, but was changed overnight by Japan’s entry into the war, which added two great oceans to the areas where shipping was menaced by submarines and air attack. Part of the escort ships had to be withdrawn for these new theatres, and during the first half of last year, sinkings on the eastern seaboard of America by U-boats, operating from European bases, had been a grievous drain on the available Allied tonnage. At times, the losses in that area were three-quarters of the total. With the adoption of the convoy system, the losses in that area began ,to fall, and now represent only a small part of the whole. The Royal Navy had helped the United States Navy in that area, and experienced Coastal Command pilots with planes, had also been sent to help. The U-boats then appeared to adopt a new policy. First, they concentrated on the mid-Atlantic, where convoys were farthest from air support. Secondly, they spread forces as far over the main shipping routes as possible. The U-boats had undertaken patrols of long duration and made sharp raids, some around the Cape of Good Hope to the Mozambique Channel, and the east coast oi Brazil. There had also been incursions into the Gulf of Aden, presumably by the Japanese . Mr. Alexander said that aircraft formed an essential part of the Üboat warfare, as they forced the Üboats down out of contact with convoys, or to the surface, where they could be attacked. More than half the attacks on U-boats were made by aircraft. TONNAGE LOSSES LESS. From December last to the end of February, the tonnage losses by the Allies had been much less than in the corresponding months oi last Winter, although competing against a larger number of U-boats. 1 here was still probably a larger output oi Üboats than the total numbers killed, but the gap was being reduced, the results in that direction in the past four months having been the most encouraging of the war. In Febiuarv they had achieved the best lesults against U-boats yet expertcnced. Referring to the protection oi Britain’s shores and the maintenance of the sea route to Russia, Mr. Alexander said that these operations cost the loss of two cruisers, ten destroyers and six other warships, and above all many valuable lives, but the sustenance brought to Russia had paidla great dividend to the United Nations. Malta had been.sustained and relieved at a cost of three cruisers, nine destroyers, and two aircraft carriers, in addition to merchant ships. With the help on two occasions oi a United States carrier, our carriers had tiansported 744 fighters to Malta Mr Alexander also ret erred to the successful North African landing, which he said had included the biggest fleet of aircraft carriers ever assembled by the Royal Navy Sea transport remained vital to the am ies in North Africa, and already a million tons of supplies had beencairied to them, in addition to> the hal 1 million tons mentioned by Mr. ChurCh Mr Alexander said that hr the Pacific the Australian and New Zealand Navies had assisted the United States Pacific Fleet to fight t 5^ e Mr Alexander paid a tribute to the mine-laying done by the Navy, c.nd and the mine-sweeping which was a highly specialised and. dangerous game. He also paid a tribute to the work done by the Fleet Air ArmJ>nd by British submarines, which weie almost daily destroying Axis shipping in the Mediterranean Taken all round, he said, the Fleet found itself a great deal stronger today than a year ago. Although Bntai had lost one new and lour old capital ships, one new and four old aircraft carriers, and two merchantmen converted to carriers, she was as strong now in capital ships as at the outbreak, and the weight oi the An Force which could be launched iiom shipboard had increased. Replacements of cruisers nearly equalled the losses, and despite heavy losses in destroyers and submarines, Britain now h?d a good many more o both classes than when the war stalled. New ships were individually stiongei and better able to meet new weapons. The number of warships, including trawlers, mine-sweepers, and corvettes completed since the outbreak has now reached a total of over 900, and in addition, a great number of merchant vessels had been converted into auxiliary warships. In addition, many ships were saved in the repair yards, which would have been a dead loss in the last war. U.S.A. POWERFUL FORCE WASHINGTON, March 3. Testifying to the House of Representatives Naval Committee on the supplementary appropriation of teui million dollars, Colonel Knox disclosed an operating force plan lor a Naw big enough to dominate all seas, with 7 a total personnel of 2,250,000 by July 1944. Colonel Knox estimated the Navy would lose and must replace one man in ten killed or wounded. - , , , ~ Chairman Sheppard asked wqsn t 10 per cent, naval casualty an overestimation. . , Colonel Knox replied: Wove just begun to fight. _ GERMAN FLEET LONDON, March 2. “There are indications that the German main fleet may go to sea in the near future,” says the naval co 1" respondent of the “Daily Telegraph. “The enemy has concentrated a large, powerful, balanced naval squadion m the Trondheim area, major units ol which recently carried out gunnery nad other exercises.” The correspondent suggests that the shortage of manpower may have convinced the German High Command that it cannot hope to combat a second front in Europe, and that it is therefore necessary to increase sinkings, thus destroying the reserve of shipping necessary for a second front. “The Germans may also think that the shipping resources of the United Nations are at present so stretched out that a sudden large increase in sinkings in the Atlantic would prove fatal to Allied plans,’ says the correspondent. “These reasons may-influence a decision to send the fleet out into the Atlantic in the hope of inflicting serious losses on Allied shipping before the warships are rounded up and sunk. The squadron in the Trondheim area consists of the batleshtip Tirpitz ,at least two Hipper class cruisers, and a number of destroyers. In addition, the battle cruiser Scharnhorst has lately been

considered to be ready r „ The aircraft-carrier Graf Zeppelin is also believed to be ready for sea. reported in the Skaggerak and is

“SYDNEY’S” LAST FIGHT

NEW YORK, March 3. Details of the cruiser Sydney’s last battle with the German raider Kormoran, are revealed by an Associated Press correspondent, Mr. John Moroso. His story was pieced together from reports by the raider's commander, Captain Detmers, and others of the 317 German survivors. The Kormoran was cruising three hundred miles west of Carnarvon, m Western Australia, one afternoon m November, 1941, when she sighted the Sydney. The raider turned into the sun, and increased her speed, but the Sydney overhauled her, and requested her identification. The Kormoran hesitated. Then she' hoisted the letters “P.K.Q.1.” belonging to the steamer “Straat Malakka. The Germans used apparent inefficiency in signalling to lure the “Sydney” closer. The cruiser came abeam 1200 or 1500 yards distant, and asked for further identification. When the ships were parallel the raider dropped plates concealing her guns, and hoisted the Nazi flag. Her four five point nine guns fired without warning. They struck the Sydney’s bridge apparently killing most of the officers. The Sydney responded furiously with a six-inch gun salvo, hitting the raider’s engine-room and fuel tanks. Fire spread over the Kormoran as the battle went on at point blank range. A torpedo from the Kormoran hit the Sydney 20 feet from the bow, apparently crippling her forward guns. Four torpedoes from the cruiser missed the Kormoran. The doomed raider stopped as the Sydney was burning amidships and settling by the bow. She drifted off and disappeared over the horizon at 11 p.m. No more was seen of the cruiser. The Kormoran blew up at midnight. The Kormoran, though resembling a harmless Dutch merchantman, sank nine Allied ships before .meeting the Sydney. She carried six five point nine inch guns stowed in her holds. They were raised hydraulically. She had six torpedo tubes, six anti-aircraft guns and a scout plane. The United States Navy is using this battle’s lessons to teach sailors to be careful when investigating strange ships. The policy is that when m doubt, shoot first and talk afterwards. ..