NORTH SEA SUBMARINES.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15131, 27 January 1917, Page 7

NORTH SEA SUBMARINES.

NORWAY APPEALS TO BRITAIN. GERMAN VIEWS, BERLIN, November 4. The strongly pro-German Norwegian newspaper Verdensgang prints an article under the headline, “The Sinking of Ships and British Command of the Sea,” which has attracted wide attention here. It says: “One must not heap reproaches on one Power akm® (Germany) for the continual sinking of merchant ships under which Norway is suffering so terribly. The unhampered activities of German submarines in the North Sea and the northern sub-Arctic stands in strange contrast to the proud claim that ‘Britannia Rules tihe Waves,’ Where is it to be discovered, except in the immediate neighbourhood of its home ports. ' , “Because of the great interests now at stake, particularly for . Norwegian merchant shipping, one must now demand that the English and'their Allies take measures for effective protection of neutral merchant shipping, which, after all, to a very large extent, handles the commerce to and from their lands. A widely extended protective service should he inaugurated. AMUSES CAPTAIN PERSIES. Commenting on this. Captain Persius, the Tageblatt marine expert, says it is illummative of the German view point on the present highly successful submarine ’ campaign against- contraband carrying neutral merchantmen. “T-hat this demand is made by the Norwegians is understandable,” says be. “The losses of Norwegian shipowners have been very severe recently. Premiums for war insurance have been increased up to 100 per cent, and for several dangerous routes insurance is no longer obtainable. The question however, whether Norwegian ships may still carry any contraband has not yet been decided. For the Norwegian shipping interests the activity of German commerce destroyers in the North Sea is naturally a hard blow, for they heretofore earned millions and millions easily, and it is hard for them to become reconciled to the fact that all this is to be different now. Hence the cry for ‘effective’ protection. “Will it be heard? Dare it to be fulfilled? It is easy to demand protective service against German commerce destroyers, but from experience so far its fulfillment should be impossible. Recently German destroyers made a thrust through the channel to the line between Folkestone and Boulogne, and sank eleven outpost steamers, several destroyers and a mail steamer. The English security service was inadequate on its own coast, and at that against overwater warships. That it is impotent against submarines is to-day no secret the world over. And yet, Norwegian critics demand effective protection against submarines. Have they followed the evolution of this latest arm so little? The fact is that no warship, let alone a merchantman can protect itself against the torpedo of a submarine. The defence invented’ to date against submarine attack has proved inadequate, particularly against attacks on merchantmen. NEW SUBMARINES SWIFT, * 4 , “To be sure a merchantman can attempt to escape by taking a ' zigzag, course and by flight at greater speed, but very high speed is necessary for this in V I,J

which very few merchantmen have. The new submarines are very light-footed. Moreover* every merchant ship by such action runs the danger qf being ruthlessly destroyed. Nothing help. One lessly destroyed. Nothing helps. One quality of an extremely effective commerce destroyer. Proof of this- is furnished by the total of merchant tonnage sunk by our submarines. “The ‘effective’ protection which is demanded in Norwegian quarters is thus a problem difficult of solution. It is out of the question that the British Fleet should declare its readiness to spread a sheltering hand over neutral merchant ships, since it is übable to protect even- its own merchantmen, either by convoy or by the stationing of patrol ships on the main routes. German submarine commanders would to be sure nail every such measure. Nov they only too infrequently find desirable and worth while targets for theiv torpedoes. The British warships know that sure protection is conferred only by staying in port, and they take good care to avoid sailing the high seas. ‘Effective’ protection against the German submarine danger can be best obtained by neutral merchantmen in not attempting any longer to carry contraband to our enemies.”