LOSS OF TWO SUBMARINES

Southland Times, Issue 24115, 2 May 1940, Page 7

LOSS OF TWO SUBMARINES

Vessels Now Long

Overdue

TRAWLERS SUNK BY BOMBS

(United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright) LONDON, April 30.

The Admiralty announces that the submarines Tarpon, under LieutenantCommander H. J. Caldwell, and Sterlet, under Lieutenant-Commander G. H. S. Haward, are now considerably overdue and must be considered lost.

His Majesty’s trawlers Bradman, under Lieutenant A. A. F. Talbot, and Cape Siretoko, under Lieutenant A. N. Blundell ,were damaged by bombs and subsequently sank. No loss of life is reported. A British Official Wireless message says that the presumed loss of the submarines Tarpon and Sterlet, vessels of 1095 tons and 670 tons respectively, brings the total of Britain’s submarine losses since the beginning of the war to seven.

The policy of publishing weekly details of the losses caused by enemy action to Allied and neutral merchant ships has been changed and in future disclosures will be confined to a statement giving the number of ships lost and the total tonnage, but not the names of ships. This change has been made in order to prevent information which may be to his advantage reaching the enemy but the efficacy or otherwise of the measures he has taken.

During recent operations, Allied naval forces inflicted very heavy losses on the enemy, the full extent of which cannot definitely be measured. The only specific information of these losses which the authorities here can give is based on what has been actually observed by the forces. On the other hand, the Admiralty’s weekly record of sinkings, accompanied by the fullest details, have been presented to the enemy with information often not otherwise available and which might prove to be of the utmost value to him. It is in these circumstances that the change in policy has been made.

The Tarpon was a submarine of the Triton class and had a complement of 53. She had one 4-inch gun, two smaller guns, and 10 21-inch torpedo tubes. This submarine, which had a speed of 15.25 knots, cost just under £350,000.

The Sterlet, which had a complement of 40 men, had one 3-inch gun and six 21-inch torpedo tubes in the bow. The submarine

had a speed of 13.75 knots and was capable of carrying 40 tons of fuel. The Sterlet was reported to be a very handy craft, able to make a “crash dive” in 30 seconds. Construction was begun in 1936 and the submarine was completed in 1938 at a cost of between £230,000 and £245,000.