SUBMARINE WARFARE.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XLII, Issue 11449, 31 January 1918, Page 5

SUBMARINE WARFARE.

GERMANY HAS MORE U-BOATS

THAN EVER

Tho number of German submarines at sea in the past few weeks has been greater than at any previous time during the war. (H. 0. Eerraby, Daily Express naval correspondent, wrote on November 7). I am able to make this assertion on information which lias reached mo from an authoritative source, and it is well that the fact should bo generally known. We must bo careful however, to avoid drawing ■wrong inference from, the facts. Throughout the greater part of the was the number of submarines that we have boon able to destroy and that have been lost from natural causes, has been approximately equal to the-number that Germany built. That state of affairs continued down to the end of August. Thou' suddenly from somewhere the Germans produced a considerable number of extra craft, and flung them out on tho trade routes.

The effect was an increased effort

against the world’s shipping. This readied its culmination in .'October, but tho fact remains that the figures of sinkings of British tonnage in tho three months August, "September and October are less than they were last spring when the-effort was nfat so determined and our methods of counter-attack were less effectively developed. As Sir Eric Geddcs told the House of 'Commons last week, the enemy lias "lost as mauv sub-

marines during the pist quarter as ho lost in the whole of the year 1010. Hero it may he intimated that when the Admiralty talk of the loss of a submarine ‘the reference is not merely to be a probable or a possible

loss, but to u loss about which there can bo no shadow of doubt. The mere presence of bnbbls, of oil, of wreckage, and the disappearance of the submarine bow iirst beneath the waves is not counted evidence by the Admiralty on which to pin an assertion that the ship was sunk. This is only good enough to. class the incident among the possibles. There is no doubt that the Germans are working their submarine crows harder than ever before, with a consequent loss of efficiency. Those who are best in a position to estimate the quality of the enemy submarine personnel have come definitely to the conclusion that the men are not so good as they were. Moreover, there is collateral evidence of this in the fact that attacks on merchant ships are not pushed home with the vigour that was formerly noticed.

Has the enemy passed his maximum effort at sea in commerce destruction? He would he a hold man who said so. The recent accession to the pirates’ ranks of the so-called “submarine cruisers” of greatly extended range of action, and armed with ‘6in. guns, as well as.' with torpedo tubes, the fact that if the personnel of the submarine service has "deteriorated the has not, and other matter to which it would not he politic to refer, must compel all thoughtful people to expect the submarine campignto he carried on with all the intensity of which tlio Gorman is capable. At the same time we are not idle. The policy of arming merchantmen has already kept the fj-boats under water and restricted their opportunities for mischief to some extent. Our anti-submarine crafts arc in-

creasing iu numbers. The various appliances already proved efficient are multiplying, and I think ;it may be said that in conjunction with business management at the Admiralty we all find a greater use made of , science adapted to naval needs.