NAVAL ALLIES

Timaru Herald, Volume CL, Issue 22063, 9 September 1941, Page 5

NAVAL ALLIES

Big Force Assisting

Britain

(Rec. 9.20 pm.) RUGBY, Sept. 7. Seven navies of Europe are fighting side by side with Britain. The figures of the submarh-:s cannot be disclosed, nor can the figures of the Greek and Yugoslav navies, but the gra _d total of ships manned and to be manned next August—including classes midisclosed—is 187. The Free French Navy provides 42 ships of all classes, the Royal Norwegian Navy 58, the Royal Netherlands Navy 39—Including one cruiser and four destroyers, and torpedo boats—the Polish Navy nine and the Royal Belgian Navy 6. The personnel of the seven navies aiding Britain totals 1230 officers and 13,500 men. The assistance of the allied merchant navies is also considerable. In J ly, 1941, these had 1617 ships aiding the Br' >sh with a total tonnage of 7,250,000 tons, Norway heading the list with 719 ships of a tonnage of 3,250,000 tons. Their total losses to the end of June, 1941, were 335 ships of a tonnage of 1,250,000.