SHIP REPAIRS

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVII, Issue 23216, 1 June 1945, Page 5

SHIP REPAIRS

U.S. Navy Worried WASHINGTON, May 30. The Secretary of the Navy (MrJames V. Forrestal) told a Press conference that the Navy -was frankly and openly worried over the problem of repairing ships damaged in the Pacific. There was urgent need for 15,000 shipyard workers on the west coast, where hundreds of workers leave their

jobs each week. Mr Forrestal said that repairs to the aircraft-carrier Franklin will take nine months. Some cruisers require six months and destroyers three months. Damage to combat ships had increased recently, largely due to the operations around the Japanese homeland, and the activities of suicide planes, 150 of which had recently attacked two destroyers continuously for 90 minutes. One destroyer shot down 23 and the second 19, but both received hits before the attack was repelled. Mr Forrestal said that naval casualties from March 15 to March 23 on Okinawa were 4270, indicating the extent of ship damage suffered in that area. Some damaged ships had already been announced, and others will be announced in the near future, but the Navy was most anxious that the Japanese should not know the total number or types of vessels not operating at any particular time. The Tokio radio says that five RearAdmirals—Marata, Ozaki. Inouye, Okano and Dawara —and two viceadmirals, including Hayakawa, had died in battle. The Associated Press commented that more than 100 Japanese admirals had now been reported dead within a year.