SILENT U-BOATS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23719, 27 July 1940, Page 11

SILENT U-BOATS

GERMAN CLAIM AVOIDING DETECTION CRAFT SAID TO BE IN USE By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. (Received July 26, 5.35 p.m.) LONDON, July 26 The Berlin radio states that Germany is using a new, small type of U-boat, one of which sank the steamer St. Georges in the English Channel. These U-boats are fitted with silencing apparatus, rendering the detection of their propeller noise impossible.

The Admiralty announces that the Naval trawlers Kingston Galena and llodino have been lost as a result of enemy air attack. A message from Gothenburg, Sweden, says the newspaper Social EJemokraten estimates that two-thirds of Sweden's merchant shipping, totalling 920,000 tons, is at present abroad and has little possibility of reaching home ports.

EIGHT-BARRELLED GUN FORMIDABLE NAVY WEAPON LONDON, July 20 Tho Royal Navy has developed, to deal with dive-bombers, a multiple pompom. which is the most deadly closerange weapon yet devised. It is eightparrelled, and fires 21b. shells at an almost incredible rate. All battleships, cruisers, -aircraftcarriers, anti-aircraft and escort ships carry these pom-poms, which have been nicknamed "Chicago pianos." They are supplemented 011 smaller ships by fourbarrelled machine-guns. BOARDED AT DAWN SEIZED FRENCH WARSHIPS LONDON. July 20 British naval ratings in rubber boots and steel helmets scrambled up the sides of the French warships at dawn, says the Daily Mail, in telling how tho French ships iu British ports wore seized. Tho sailors were led by officers, who immediately went to the French captains' cabins and urged them to accept the occupation in a good spirit. The boarding parties assembled quietly ashore overnight. They were given no inkling of where they were going, or for what purpose; but more volunteers than could be used came forward. KING' VISITS DOCKS TALK WITH FUSILIERS British Wireless LONDON, July 25 Troops drawn from the Royal Fusiliers, which have the privilege of marching through the City of London with fixed bayonets, formed a guard of honour when the King visited the London docks yesterday. While visiting the Royal Fusiliers' canteen, he came upon a number of men enjoying glasses of beer. His Majesty talked with them for some time, and, when he left, he received the universal farewell observed throughout England—the raised glass and "Good luck, sir!"

The King spent 10 minutes in an underground shelter during an air raid while he was visiting South Coast naval establishments.

BRITISH BUDGET

FURTHER CRITICISMS BOLDER MEASURES URGED British Wireless LONDON, July 25 Several newspapers, including the Times, tho Daily Telegraph and the Manchester Guardian, return to the subject of the supplementary Budget, and their comment indicates that there is among the public a very strong demand for far-reaching measures to ensure a wholehearted and efficient application of national resources to the war effort, which the new proposals have not fully satisfied. Compulsory saving in family allowances and comprehensive rationing and price fixing are among the measures discussed.

In the resumption of the House of Commons debate on the Budget, Mr. F. W. Pethwick-Lawrence (Labour — Edinburgh E.) said that the whole criticism of the Budget was on grounds that, although the Chancellor was imposing taxation that might bring in £126,000,000 this year and £239,000,000 in the full year, he was not putting on sufficient taxation. He doubted the Chancellor's wisdom in not taking a bolder line at once with regard to income tax instead of keeping a bit in hand for a later Budget. The Labour Party, while not liking the idea of a purchase tax, was not opposed to the principle.