412 Plus

The Navy did its best to sound optimistic. But out of the pea-soup fog of censorship which enveloped the doleful shipping story came only more bad news. At week's end the Associated Press's unofficial tally of Allied and neutral ships sunk since Dec. 7 was 412. The true figure was much higher. The A.P.'s tally was based on Navy announcements, which were far from up to date. Reports of the most recent sinkings were suppressed. The British made no announcements of losses in the eastern Atlantic. The up-to-date, total figure of Allied shipping losses was 412 plus.

How much plus? Last week the Nazis reported that 51 Allied naval and merchant ships had been sunk in the space of 24 hours. That, Berlin blustered, will "give every promoter of a second front food for thought." The real figure lay somewhere between Nazi propaganda and the Navy's reluctant releases.

U.S. shipbuilders, doing their best to replace losses, set an alltime world's record in July, delivered 71 merchantmen of a total 790,300 tonnage. But to reach President Roosevelt's goal of 8,000,000 tons in 1942 they must boost output 18%, to 932,000 tons a month. Even that may not be enough to replace total losses if the present rate of sinkings continues.

2,400 Minus 8. The Navy kept its chin up. Crews were being trained to man guns on cargo vessels. Last week 200 gunners went down to the sea from the Naval Armory in Chicago. PC boats were sliding down the way fast. When there were enough of them, said the Navy, coastal traffic would be able to move again in safety.

No one need suppose that the Navy had been thumb-twiddling. In a radio debate in Los Angeles last week, Captain Claude Banks Mayo, U.S.N. retired, superintendent of the California Maritime Academy, uncorked a figure which gave some indication of what had occupied the Navy's time while ships were sunk in the eastern coastal waters of the Atlantic. Said Captain Mayo: "Your Navy has carried 2,400 deep-laden ships to Ireland and England with the loss of but eight."

From an authoritative source came another tribute. No less a person than Vice Admiral Doenitz, chief shark of the Nazi shark pack, was quoted by a Swedish newspaper: "I would like to emphasize that the U-boat war in American waters is by no means an easy job. I am not inclined to underestimate the enemy."

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