U.S. SUBMARINES’ BAG

Grey River Argus, 21 October 1943, Page 5

U.S. SUBMARINES’ BAG

460 JAP SHIPS 25 Warships Sunk and 13 Damaged 8.0.W. RUGBY, Oct. 19. The sinking of or damaging of 460 Japanese ships in the Pacific since the start of the war is recorded in to-day’s United States naval communique, which states: “Far East Pacific: According to the latest available information United States submarines operating over wide a l reas and carrying the war to the enemy’s closest home waters have sunk a total of 319 Japanese ships, probably sunk or damaged 36, and damaged 105 others since December 7, 1941.” More recent sinkings include six large tankers, 17 large cargo ano sunply ships, 45 medium cargo and supply ships, three large transports, two medium tankers and 20 miscellaneous vessels. (Rec. 5.5.) WASHINGTON, Oct, 19.

Colonel Knox explained the announcement in a Navy communique that 148 additional Japanese ships had been torpedoed. He said that if there had been a prompt announcement of the submarines’ sinkings, it might have helped the enemy. Therefore the announcement had been withheld until the information would no longer be valuable. Colonel Knox said he estimated that American submarines had accounted for approximately seventy-five per cent, of all of the Japanese merchant tonnage that had been destroyed since the outbreak of the war. He supplied details showing that of the Japanese warships that had been attacked by American submarines, three cruisers and twenty-two destroyers had been sunk. Twelve vessels of other types had probably been sunk. They included one aircraft carrier, two cruisers and five destroyers Vessels that had been damaged had included two aircraft-carriers, five cruisers, and six destroyers. Of the merchantmen that had been sunk, thirty-four were tankers, twentyseven transports, 190 cargo vessels, and Itwenty-nine miscellaneous vessels,