NAVAL FORCES

Waikato Times, Volume 126, Issue 21041, 17 February 1940, Page 7

NAVAL FORCES

ANGLO-FRENCH CO-OPERATION GOOD WORK IN CONVOY PROTECTION OF TRANSPORT (Official Wireless) (Received Feb. 17, 1 p.m.) RUGBY, Feb. 16 Details of the manner in which the French and British naval forces are co-operating have become known. In addition to escorting large numbers of French colonial troops to France and French soldiers overseas, French torpedo boats with escort vessels and planes protected the transport taking the British Expeditionary Force to France. The naval protection of the convoy of transport which brought the second Canadian contingent to Britain was entrusted to a French Admiral, while a French cruiser co-operated in the escort of the Australian and New Zealand troops who landed recently in Egypt. Apart from the convoys of merchant ships organised under the British Admiralty and including ships of various nationalities, convoys have been organised by the French Admiralty and escorted exclusively by French naval units. The French Navy has also cooperated with the British Navy in escorting convoys. Of 100 vessels escorted solely by French naval units only four have been sunk by enemy action. A great number of patrols has been undertaken since the outbreak of the war by French auxiliary cruisers, patrol vessels and submarines, and these resulted in the capture of six enemy merchant ships, of which four were captured before their crews had time to scuttle them. Some of the patrol vessels remained at sea from 20 to 25 days in a month. Ships Stopped and Examined Since the beginning of hostilities 100 neutral ships have been stopped and examined by patrol ships or sent to the Contraband Control ports. Many have been detained after being visited. Five hundred and thirtyseven thousand tons of suspicious goods were landed pending the decision of the Prize Court. The French Navy co-operated in hunting for the Admiral Graf Spee, and its larger warships have taken part in several reconnaissances in conjunction with similar British war- ! ships. | Divisions of French torpedo boats are patrolling the approaches of the North Sea and the Straits, thus reviving co-operation with the Dover patrol of the last war.