Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 208, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 September 1918 — British Navy Is Bigger Than Ever [ARTICLE]

British Navy Is Bigger Than Ever

Has Grown 160 Per Cent Despite the Hun Submarine Warfare. LOSSES ARE FALLING BEHIND Official Figures Show Convoy System Is Beating U-Boats—New Tonnage Exceed Destruction by 100,000 Tons Monthly. London.— Upon the fourth anniversary of Great Britain’s entry into the war the secretary of the admiralty made public figures and facts which throw an encouraging light upon the naval situation of the allies. The British navy, apart from the American forces which now form a( integral part of its fighting strength consists at the present time of warships and auxiliary craft whose total displacement reaches 6,500,000 tons, against 2,500,000 in August, 1914. During that period about three-quarters of a million tons have been lost, but at the present day the growth of the fleet shows an increase of 160 per cent. Similarly with the personnel. The original 146,000 officers and men have grown to 394,000.

U-Boats Losing Power. Sir Eric Geddes, first lord of the admiralty, speaking in the house of commons on March 5, 1918, was able to express the opinion that the British and American naval forces in the North sea, the north Atlantic and the English channel were sinking submarines as fast as they were built, and on July 30, says the statement, he made the welcome announcement that during the last three months of the first half of 1918 the world output of tonnage exceeded the world’s losses from all causes by no less than 100,000 tons a month. As to the 'means of defense against submarines, figures are now available which show that the convoy system has played a large part in overcoming the submarine menace to the ocean communications of the allies. Whereas in the period from April to June of last year, before the convoy system was established, British steamers sailing to and from the United Kingdom in the main oversea trades suffered losses through enemy action of 5.41 per cent of their total number. The figures since then have steadily diminished, until in the period from March to June of this year, during which 93.8 per cent of the ships were convoyed, the losses have dropped to 1.23 per

cent of the total number of sailings in these trades. Million Americans Abroad. American troops who reached Europe by July 27 of this year totaled well over 1,000,000. Nearly half of these were carried by American ships, and the United States furnished for them 40 ocean transports and 335 escorts of destroyers. The total tonnage of ships of all nationalities convoyed in all trades since the introduction of the convoy system is 61,691,000, of which 373,000, or approximately .61 per cent, ijas been lost while in convoy. Since August 4, 1914, the British navy has transported nearly 20,000,000 men to different destinations, 2,000,000 animals and 110,000,000 tons of naval and military stores. The men lost through enemy action during the transportation bear the proportion of 1 to every 6,000 carried.