| Show Cargo Ships Present Both Dark Bright War mar Side By JOHN JOliN DROVER Wide World Service Writer 1 Cargo ships are at once the brightest and darkest sides of the allied war picture picture darkest darkest because of an acute shipping shortage right now brightest because of the whopping job United States shipbuilders are doing to ease the shortage In the near future It was acknowledged recently that munitions are reaching seaports seaports seaports sea sea- ports faster than they can be shipped abroad Factors that cause this shortage of cargo space include 1 distances to the fronts 2 greater enemy submarine fleets 3 more necessary necessary necessary essary tonnage per soldier in modern war In 1917 18 we had to send men and munitions only miles to France This time theres there's the mile haul to western Europe Europe Europe Eu Eu- rope the he mile run to Russia Russia Russia Rus Rus- sia and the mlle mile trip to the tM Pacific front In the last w war r the central powers h had d a a. maximum sub fleet of vessels Present estimates vary but the Jap nazi Italian total is at least three times that Modern subs are better too and the allied defense must be spread thin over the worlds world's oceans One Man Ian 18 Tons One of the army's top logistics experts figures 18 tons of initial initial ini- ini equipment must be landed for each Infantryman sent abroad After that it takes three tons a m month nth to supply each fighting man Remember It also requires at least twice more ships for the Russian run and four times as many for the Pacific haul to keep that three tons per man arriving as it does to supply a man in western Eu Eu- rope To move that tonnage those distances made necessary the greatest merchant shipping program program program pro pro- gram in history Originally the prewar shipbuilding ing plan called for shins a year There were ver experts who called that fantastic and impossible Now they're expecting to reach a experts who called that total totaling totaling totaling ing around gross tons Four a a. Day in 42 Building hit a ship day total in February Its It's due to be stepped up to two ships a day in May between three and four foura a day in December The program is behind schedule schedule schedule sched sched- ule figured on production totals for the first quarter of 1942 But many of the new shipyards wont won't be in production until summer and present active yards wont won't hit peak until then They've had to lick some same tough technical problems to bring the goal In sight Steel shortages hurt at first but shipbuilding shipbuilding shipbuilding ship ship- building has top priorities now Turbine engines were were and and still are are are-a a Bottleneck but they switched to old-fashioned old cylinder cylinder der engines much easier to build in quantity Not so fast but they'll push a ton Liberty ship at 10 or 11 knots which means more to a commander abroad than a fancier ship with an engine 1511 Liberty Ships We had about 1150 cargo vessels vessels vessels ves ves- sels including tankers on January 1 1941 Add 1511 Liberty Liberty Liberty Lib Lib- erty ships built or building tankers and the rest of th 2300 in special cargo vessels which constitute the present program They total the greatest merchant fleet in history The British had 2664 cargo ships December 31 1940 when figures were last disclosed the Norwegians for a combined tonnage of Losses to date have been partially re replaced replaced replaced re- re placed and experts put the remaining remaining remaining re re- re- re merchant fleet at 16 to tons In the 60 days January days January 15 to March 15 when the nazi U-boats U concentrated off oft the American coast official announcement announcement announcement an an- of put losses at about tons a a- month Losses In other other waters make the race about a stand-off stand at tons a month Since the first quarter of the year our production rate is estimated estimated estimated esti esti- mated at double that three- three month average while the submarine submarine submarine sub sub- marine loss rate has dropped The building rate will go up again while the tM subs have not lot averaged tons a month since the war started |
