FEEBLE RESULTS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 216, 10 August 1940, Page 7

FEEBLE RESULTS

CHANNEL ATTACKS. s POSITION ANALYSED. (United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) (British Official Wireless.) Received August 10, 10.45 a.m. RUGBY, Aug. 9. . Authoritative figures relating to the losses to shipping in yesterday’s air attack on the convoy in the Channel have been given in London and effectively dispose of the claims in to-day’s German High Command communique.

In tho first attack, which took place in darkness, and. was carried out by the E-boats, three small ships were sunk, as announced by tho Admiralty last night.' Their total tonnage was approximately 2500. One E-boat was sunk by gunfire and another is believed to have been very seriously damaged. According to the German claims this attack accounted for three ships with a total tonnage of 17,000. It is a significant comment on this claim that the aggregate tonnage of the whole convoy, which consisted of over twenty ships, was only about 18,000 ton 6. During the succeeding air attacks by day the Germans claim to have sunk twelve ships totalling between 50,000 and 55,000 tons and damaged seven others. The latter part of the claim is correct. Seven ships were damaged and have been brought safely into port. All these ships were small, only two being over a thousand tons. Two ships totalling 2540 tons were sunk.

Thus out of a convoy of well over twenty ships (on these voyages some ships leave the convoy for coastal ports and others join the convoy, making it difficult to give the exact numbers), for the cost of at least sixt- planes and their irreplaceable crewsj one E-boat sunk and one bad•]y damaged, Germany destroyed 5039 tons of shipping, damaged about the same amount, and destroyed 16 British fighters.

A feature of the convoy protection was the first recorded presence of a barrage balloon. Seven Dutch sailors, including two who were seriously injured, have arrived at a south-west port after being machine-gunned several times by German raiders during yesterday’s attack against the convoy. Anti-aircraft guns brought down a German bomber off the North-itast Coast this morning. The bomber adopted glide-bombing tactics in order to avoid the ground batteries. Jhe crew of three escaped In a rubber boat and were taken prisoner. The Times says the German It-boats are of 30 to 40 tons and some of the newer ones may be larger. They are motor-driven, are 100 ft long, with a speed of 20 to 30 knots, and carry torpedoes or depth-charges and pompoms, firing a shell. They have also been used for mine-laying.