OCR Text |
Show WHIPPING THE U-BOATS When the war began in Europe, the experts discounted dis-counted Germany's submarine campaign against Great Britain, largely upon the experience of the first World War during which the convoy system was perfected. Increased losses, however, emphasized the necessity of dealing with the peril. Naval experts ex-perts understood that its gravity was due to the lack of patrol vessels and believed that, in time, as new destroyers and patrol ships could be constructed, the submarine menace would be conquered. It might not be out of place to call attention to the plight of the British Navy when the war began. Due to the disarmament folly, The British fleet was in no condtion to keep open the Atlantic lanes and to preserve the Mediterranean life-line. Consequently, Consequent-ly, British merchant shipping had to take a beating. It is comforting to report, however, upon what seems to be competant authority, that tanks, guns and planes are arriving at ..British ..ports ..in "phenominal volume" and that the battle of the Atlantic, although not in the headlines, is being won. For more than three months, reports Roscoe Dru mond. Washington correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor, the Axis submarines "have been scurrying for safer waters and leaving Great Britain and America in unquestioned mastery" of the North Atlantic. Mr. Drummond reported last week that the unified Anglo-American naval operations in the North Atlantic, using a convoy technique developed de-veloped by the U. S. Navy, has been so successful that only one Allied merchant ship has been sunk since September 19th, which was sixteen days after the "Shoot-on-Sight" orders to the American Amer-ican Navy and that for more than three months there has been no loss of commercial shipping. Readers should not confuse the North Atlantic with the route past Gibralter. It was on this route that the British suffered a severe attack upon a convoy, con-voy, news of which wras recently released. Even the combined U-boat and airplane offensive against the 30-ship convoy, referred to by London, however, was beaten off with the loss of only two ships. |