THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES Wednesday, June 11, 1941. WAR IN THE ATLANTIC

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24630, 11 June 1941, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES Wednesday, June 11, 1941. WAR IN THE ATLANTIC

Referring in April to the Battle of the Atlantic the British Prime Minister, who is not given to casual or over-sanguine prediction, 'declared: " I cannot doubt that before many months are passed I shall be able to declare that it has been decisively won." Of this prolonged and major battle of a gruelling war not very much information is made available. We are told from month to month of the British shipping losses, which are painfully large; we learn less than enough of the determined, ceaseless patrol by sea and air which is maintained at all times, in all weathers, over the waters of the North Atlantic, along the routes which are Great Britain's means of communication with the United States. But it is a vigil not without successes. The loss of H.M.S. Hood last month served to advertise the fact that the Nazis are still contriving to send their ships of prey far afield. The' destruction of Bismarck proved that such raiders — even the most powerful which Germany possesses—must find it hard to survive for long in the waters over which the Royal Navy and its air arm range. The fateful ending of Bismarck's adventure was not the end of that story. Within a week terse announcements from the Admiralty have referred to the destruction of no fewer than five supply ships, which had been lurking in the Atlantic for the purpose of replenishing the fuel and other supplies of Bismarck and other raiders, and an armed trawler. These figures do not appear sensational. It is known that Germany has a large fleet of U-boats operating in the Atlantic and that in this war long-range aircraft, which were unknown in the war of 1914-18, are also taking their toll of shipping. But the swift "clean-up" of the supply ships, after Bismarck's brief appearance irr the North Atlantic indicated their presence, speaks more eloquently than words of the grim efficiency of the navy in carrying out its tasks. The risks which must be faced by U-boats, and in a much greater degree by surface raiders, in making to their huntinggrounds, must impose a definite restriction upon the number of raiders which can be put into actual operation. And the raider, once established, is in constant danger of disr covery and annihilation. It is certain, moreover, that while Germany may still be able to maintain a largescale building programme, the training of personnel for this suicidal form of sea warfare presents difficulties. It has been computed that in the first six months of the war Germany lost 3000 U-boat officers and men —specialists who had been prepared for their work in time of peace. The problem of replacing these crews must be perpetual. The failure to keep up with losses militated very seriously against the success of the U-boats in the closing period of the Great War, when untrained men and inexperienced commanders entered the service. The Battle of the Atlantic is not a battle that can be won or lost on a certain day. , It is a year-in, year-out struggle, that will continue while the war lasts. But there must come a day when ascendancy is established by one side or the otherpatrols and convoys, or raiders. In spite of the seriousness of British shipping losses, there need be no pessimism regarding the capacity of Great Britain, probably with added American assistance, to gain the upper hand.