U-BOAT LOSSES ADMITTED

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21556, 19 January 1940, Page 7

U-BOAT LOSSES ADMITTED

Allies Have Sunk Thirty-Five

Half Of Nazi Fleet

Destroyed

RUGBY, January 17. The three British submarine

which, as the Admiralty announced yesterday, must now be regarded as having been lost, are the first submarine losses by enemy action in 18 weeks of warfare, and it is noted that the Germans are only aware of their success against two of them—Starfish and Undine. These losses contrast remarkably with the German submarine losses, which are conservatively estimated at about 12 times this number. This relative immunity from loss is not due to any policy of holding back British submarines. An official announcement refers to the particularly hazardous service on which these vessels had been engaged. The nature of these hazards may be gauged from the graphic account of the experiences of an unnamed British submarine which struggled home after being temporarily disabled by a heavy enemy attack in German waters.

More recently, Ursula, a sister-ship of Undine, and Salmon, a sister-ship of Starfish, on similar patrols achieved successes in attacks on German warships, which must be set against these losses. All of three of the craft lost w T ere of the small type, which are suited for operations in narrow, shallow 7 waters.

Unexpected Confirmation

Meanwhile, the extent of German submarine losses has been confirmed from an unexpected source—a German propaganda broadcast from Frankfurt. The commentator, referring to these losses, said: “We need not pay attention to Churchill’s tall stories. We have plenty of submarines still, to say nothing of those being turned out in the dockyards. The W’ish of the English is father to the thought. They

say that they have sunk 70. If they had said 35 it would be a bit nearer the truth.’’ In fact, the Allies never claimed to have sunk 70 German U-boats. The only aggregate claims made were last Saturday by the French Minister of Marine, who estimated that altogether 30 German submarines had been sunk. So far. from throwing doubt on the Allied statements, the broadcast has served to confirm their moderation and accuracy.

The “Manchester Guardian” comments: “At a moderate estimate fully half the U-boats with which Germany began the war have been destroyed by the British and French navies. The submarine threat has been brought under control, and it is in the light of that predominant fact that the present losses in an exceptionally risky enterprise must be viewed. They are, moreover, handsomely offset by figures now available of the success of the convoy system. 6363 ships having been safely escorted and only 12 lost.” The Admiralty has issued lists of 14 officers and 94 ratings missing from the submarines Seahorse, Undine, and Starfish.