Show recent allied success in undersea war I 1 Is result of coordinated campaign improved weapons better use of old Defea defeating tiny subs the submarine was utterly defeated in may prime minister churchill stated triumphantly in a recent address the first lord of the admiralty amended this by announcing that the british navy had set a new record in that month for U boat sin kings and that losses now exceeded german production thus the gravest threat to alli allied ed success the submarine campaign against shipping is being answered as it was in world war 1 I success is coming faster than anyone dared hope a little while ago in april admiral king of the U S navy predicted that the sub submarine marin e danger would be brought under control within four to six months secretary of navy knox a few days later said that the increasing numbers of destroyers st now guarding convoys would soon have their beneficial effect the peril to the bridge of ships carrying war supplies to europe and the orient is not being met by any one secret weapon destroyers airplanes cannon radar helicon balloons and many other war machines are being employed in combinations best adapted to the task the change for the better has come rather suddenly only last january the tremendous losses in shipping tonnage were causing extreme concern in allied war councils almost a million tons a month was being sunk last year charles E walsh chief of the maritime procurement cu division has revealed that over la 1 l million tons went down in the first year of war the merchant marine reports that nearly men have been lost in the last 20 months until very lately there was little light through the dark clouds ships getting through now the great fleets of merchant ships are arriving in allied ports with small losses the protection devised by the navy is succeeding A convoy which may consist of hundreds of ships carrying ammunition food plane parts oil and thousands of other war materials ashvell as well as troops offers many tar 0 als F J parl 74 4 P 0 A 4 LIKE A DUCKS BACK the abw new lifesaving suit keeps seamen dry and warm under all conditions A jackknife for cutting away entangling ropes and a red signal light and police whis tle for lor 4 attracting attention of rescuers ar are e attached to the shoulder gets for enemy submarines and torpedo planes destroyers ranging along the flanks and ahead and behind the convoy are the usual defenders of the slow and helpless freighters tankers and troopships but the greyhounds grey hounds of the sea have a lot of auxiliaries lef under the new system one of these is the corvette a small merchant shw ship converted to a light warship itcan function much as the destroyer does although it k k k 1 IN lt 1 11 Q 3 W L A helicopter LANDS settling slowly on the space marked ou on as its landing field on the deck of a victory ship this helicopter makes d a perfect landing this peculiar aircraft can rise and descend almost vertically and can hover over the water spotting submarines does not have its speed or maneuverability ver ability then there is the aircraft carrier which is accompanying large convoys lately planes from the carrier can patrol a wide circle and prevent any enemy surface craft from surprising the convoy that new marvel radar can locate enemy planes and submarines with amazing accuracy in fogs or at night destroyers are being equipped with radar now listening devices to detect submarines by the pulsations of their propellers have been in use for some time so the officers in charge of the defense of a convoy have several means of knowing when the enemy is is approaching only about miles of the voyage between the united states and british ports is beyond the range of land based aircraft according to secretary knox the patrol planes of the allies can protects protect shipping within an arc six or seven hundred miles in radius ships mount heavy guns convoys are so large however that despite all sorts of armed guardians some ships will be attacked and perhaps damaged or sunk often too a single merchant ship has to travel without escort to enter a small port off the regular run or for a number of other reasons merchant ships have long been accustomed to mount some cannon in wartime but against modern enemy craft ordinary seamen have little chance to use their weapons effectively the maritime commission has ordered every american ship to carry a five inch gun A crew from the navy mans the piece which is deadly to enemy submarines and destroyers or any vessel with thinner armor than a cruiser ships are protected against aircraft by antiaircraft anti aircraft guns and 50 caliber machine guns expert navy crews also handle these ordnance submarines and planes are reluctant to get too close to a ship that can defend herself and torpedoes bombs and gunfire aimed from a distance are less accurate A barrage balloon is now being added to the defensive equipment of merchant ships the balloon trails steel cables when in the air thereby preventing a dive bombing plane from getting too close to the ship or from running along it and strafing the crew with machine gun bullets the gas bag is raised and lowered by a cable attached to a winch near the stern last month the maritime commission MISS ion and the war shipping administration decided after a successful demonstration that helicon can be employed to give added protection protection to to individual ships every new liberty model ships ship will carry a helicopter according to present plans As these peculiar aircraft can rise and descend almost vertically they can operate from a small area on the deck of a vessel whether the th e ship is part of a convoy or sailing alone the helicopter can hover around watching for the enemy some Sin kings inevitable ships will be damaged and sunk however despite all defensive precautions and efforts some are wrecked by storms or are smashed on rocks or icebergs even when in a sinking condition nevertheless a ship may sometimes be saved by some som e of the safety features that are part of a modern ship if the ship must be abandoned other emergency features help to save the lives of the crew many safety devices have been added and old ones have been improved several have been built into tle the ship itself the maritime commission found that men were hurt frequently in the dark p passage alsage ways when the lights went out after a torpedo had struck luminous paint signs now mark all passage ways and exits and directions point to ladders and indicate the switches of emergency lights crash panels must now be put into every door by coast guard regulations these are sections of thin wood within every door that can be smashed out by trapped crewmen leaving a space big enough to permit escape to preserve the nerve centers of a ship as long as possible the pilot house and radio shack are covered with reinforced concrete and steel capable of withstanding submarine shelling latest in life boats finally when seamen have to abandon ship the latest and best in lifesaving life saving equipment comes into play by orders of the coast guard the life boats are always kept swung out and clamped against canvas cov ered cushions the ropes holding the boats are secured by a single pelican hook which can be tripped by simply releasing a catch allowing the boat to be lowered into the water in a minute or two at the same time a boat is lowered a life net kept rolled up against the side of the ship just be femmy 7 nr N r SIT I r fai 1 jl jj j p 4 vm IA s f 1 bifi M s ri y fesia i I 1 i V I 1 A a J rl LIFE RAFT six research men are shown testing the new rubber lif life e raft under actual shipwreck conditions for the maritime commission they were cast adrift near cape fear N C to study conditions ol of survival at sea and to report defects and possibilities for improvement merchant ships carry these rafts in m addition to the lifeboats low the boat deck is released three or four men can scramble down this net at the same time merchant ships must a also ISO carry life rafts since the boats may be damaged by shells or the sinking ship may be leaning so far over that it is impossible to lower lifeboats on one side boats carry radios A portable sending and receiving radio set must be included in the equipment of at least one lifeboat on every ship water rations on each boat have been increased from three to te ten n quarts per person F fourteen ounces each of pemmican malted milk tablets chocolate and type C army ration biscuits must be included in every boat for each person rubber lifesaving suits are issued to each member of the crew besides keeping a man dry while 1 in n the water the suits give protection against exposure in a lifeboat or raft attached to the shoulder of each suit cuitis is a jackknife with which a man can free himself if he is is entangled in ropes and a police whistle and a red signal light to attract the attention of rescuers so the perils to allied shipping are being successfully by combining all known resources of warships planes guns and radio the war goods are getting throb through gh the ships are arriving 1 safely but when a ship does go down the brave seamen have e a much better chance of living to sail again than ever 11 1 before ment thinks boever vetter better equips |