ALLIED SHIPPING

Timaru Herald, Volume CLIII, Issue 22473, 7 January 1943, Page 3

ALLIED SHIPPING

American Production (Rec. 7.30» WASHINGTON, Jan. 5. Rear-Admiral E. S. Land, chairman of the Maritime Commission. told a press conference that Ameri. n shipyards had attained Preside!, Roosevelt’s goal in 1942 of 8,000.000 tons of merchant shipping. The 1943 goal of 16.000,000 tons would be surpassed and they would deliver 20,000,000 tons if steel and other materials were available. Rear-Admiral Land said that although air transport was a coming thing, they were already doing a splendid job He insisted: “We will never have enough ships so long as this war lasts. We will soon be deHvering five shin daily, but it doe not matter how fast they can be built they can still be sunk in a minute. The submarine menace is like a common cold. There will never be a cure for it. Planes never can carry the bulk of the traffic. Their production is quality not quantity.” Rear-Admiral Land said that close co-operation of labour and management would contribute to a successful output. There were still some flies in the ointment, including the absentee situation in some yards Other contributing factors to success included extensive prefabrication. assembly line methods, and the increased use of welding instead of rivetting. The new liberty ship in production this year, instead of having a recoprocating engine, will have a German designed Lenz engine giving increased horsepower with a speed exceeding 15 knots compared with the present 12.