The Wanganui Chronicle. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1943. MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 87, Issue 245, 16 October 1943, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1943. MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING

JCKEBIAG the Mediterranean of the Axis grip which for so long was firmly imposed upon it has reduced the length of the voyages which must be taken to the Middle and Far East. This has several advantages: the tonnage employed can, on the shorter run, get a quicker turn-round and is consequently more valuable, deliveries of oil from the Persian Gulf can be speeded up, and supplies and equipment and mor can be more easily sent to India for the forthcoming light in Burma. The Germans will continue to endeavour to frustrate Allied sea operations by the employment of the aeroplane anti the submarine. The Mediterranean during the last war was the most favoured ocean for German U-boat operations and there the largest amount of shipping was sunk in a given area. During this war, however, conditions have not been the same and the casualties have been with the U-boats. This has been due to the more thorough air survey and to the increased efficiency in the" depth charges used German U-boat crews now prefer to do the' ■ voyaging in the Atlantic. While the Germans control the south of France ami Northern Italy they are able to send aeroplanes out over the Mediterranean for the purpose of harassing shipping, and it is to be expected that they will continue to do this. The progress that has been made in Italy by the Fifth and Eighth Armies has reduced the air advantages of the Axis, as aerodromes in Sicily and Sardinia and in the Foggia region have new passed into Allied hands. As the Allies advance in Italy they will engage more of the Axis air power, and to that extent rhe situation in the Mediterranean will be relieved. Aerodromes in Crete and in the Peleponnese are still in enemy hands, and consequently Allied activities in the Eastern Mediterranean are restricted. The operations that are now going on in the Dodecanese and concerning which very little news is available, are likely, when completed, to have a beneficial effect upon G'3 shipping situation.