The Timaru Herald THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1942. VITAL SEA LANES

Timaru Herald, Volume CLI, Issue 22201, 19 February 1942, Page 4

The Timaru Herald THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1942. VITAL SEA LANES

IN this week of discouraging news, one of the heartening items was the announcement that the 35,000 ton battleship Alabama was launched at Portsmouth (Virginia) nine months ahead of schedule and that immediately the vessel struck the water, the keel of the 45,000-ton Kentucky was laid. The United States Secretary of Navy struck the right note when he said: “To-day we know beyond doubt that the burden on our Navy is the greatest in history. Not only must we protect our shores and coastal commerce, but we must check the surging flood of Japanese aggression to the Antipodes until we are able to muster sufficient forces to send it hurtling back whence it came.” Many people may have been disappointed by the visible results of American aid, but the rapid construction of these battleships shows that the astronomical figures of American production Are reaching the stage of actuality. Both Mr Churchill and President Roosevelt have emphasised on more than one occasion that the final result of this war will ultimately depend upon sea power. That the British people themselves are not blind to this fact was illustrated by the dismay that swept the Empire when it was learned that the German battleships had escaped from Brest. That British air leaders also understand the importance of sea power was shown by the sacrificial efforts of the Royal Air Force to frustrate this escape. Although little is heard of them, a great deal is owed to thdse men who in calm and storm have been battling with U-boat pirates on the high seas. This grim, unceasing Battle of the Atlantic has spread itself to the north and the Mediterranean seas and has now come to the Pacific. That this battle is not always going our way is shown by Mr Churchill’s recent admission that “The Mediterranean is closed and all our transports have to go round the Cape of Good Hope, each ship making only three voyages in a year.” However, there are grounds for satisfaction in the knowledge that shipping losses have been decreasing at a rapid rate. In the first four months of last year, from March to June, losses average 500,000 tons a month, while the losses between the four months from September to December had fallen to 180,000 tons. It is only to be expected that there should continue to be fairly heavy losses in Allied shipping, but if the average of losses can be kept within these limits then the Battle of the Atlantic has been won, for the Allied building programme is a compensating factor. When sinkings were hovering in the vicinity of 6,000,000 tons a year it looked as though Britain was heading for starvation. But with this substantial reduction, and with replacements being made at the rate of 2.000,000 tons a year, it is no wonder that Mr Churchill considered these improvements gave room for “solid, sober assurance.” But even with an average of one 6.000 ton liner being lost every day of the year, Mr Churchill has assured the Empire 'that “we shall certainly find ourselves with a good supply of ships in 1942,” and in the following year he expects to have sufficient ships to “enable overseas operations to take place that are utterly beyond British resources at the present time.” The British contribution of new ships is at the rate of 1,000,000 tons annually. The American programme rose from 8,000,000 tons last year to 2,000,000 tons this year, while in ]943 this programme will be stepped up to 4,000,000 tons. If sea losses can be kept in check while this vast building programme is progressively being realised, and the sea-lanes, which are so vital, not only to the Empire but also to the Americas are kept open, then the road to victory will be materially shortened.