Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-06-21
13 OF 100 ATTACKS
ON U.BOATS SUCCEED
Navy Department Makes Pub.
lie Result Of Three Months
Observation
THOUSANDS REPORTED
Believe Only Half Battles With
Submarines Are the Real
Thing
Washington. June 81

Thirteen Of every hundred reported
attacks on or sinkings Of German sub
marines withstand the cold light of
critical analysis and are classified as
known sinking" in which there Is no
room to doubt, the actual destruction
Of the U.boat. according to official
British information obtained at the
Navy Department.
This 13 per cent of sinkinss in en-.
gagements with the raiders by Amer
lean and Allied naval forces, as we'll as
by armed guards OF merchantmen and
aerial patrols, is an average of a
three months period, and is accepted
as the official estimate by both British
and American naval authorities.
The Information is the first from
official sources on the point and sets
forth the. ratio of effectiveness of the
war against the submarine.
Raiders Here still at Large
Although there have been various
reports recently of the destruction by
patrol vessels and armed steamships
Of one or more Of the German subma-
rines operating Off the Atlantic coast,
it was learned authoritative3y that
the Navy Department is without evil
dence that would Justify the belief
that any of the sea wolves has been
accounted for.
II also was learned that close
study of the reports made by mas
ters OF ship which have been sunk
or attacked has suggested to some
naval experts that the raiders op-
Grating on this side of the Atlantic
are OF special type in which speed
has been sacrificed to fuel capacity.
enabling the raiders to remain away
from their bases for long periods =
Although the number OF submarines
actually sunk of the thousands re-
ported attacked Is relatively small
Navy Department officials declared
that IL all such reports were true Ger
many would have had such fleet Of
U-boats that lit would be fair to as
sumo we wouldn't have a ship on the
ocean and Germany would have swept
the sea Of all ships"
80 Per Cent Highly Improbable
The official figures were based on
compilation of submarine operations
and counter measures in the British
pink book" the existence of which
and its high Importance scarcely have
received mention.
Mr.. Roosevelt. Assistant Secretary
of the Navy. said that Of 100 at.
tacks against submarines reported by
various sources so. per cent were
called highly improbable" although
they were reported officially as definite
attacks. They were classified as
doubtful. even as to the presence
of submarines" by the British Ad-
miralty.
slightly more than 20 per cent Of
every 100 cases reported were listed
as possible" and in each case the
submarine certainly was present. ac.
thorities who scanned the reports.
Five per cent were classified as
probable sinkings," where 1t was es.
tablished definitely that the submarine
was present and damaged.
Allowing for the possibility that a
majority, II not all, of the probable
sinkings" actually resulted in u.boats
being destroyed or put out of commits
sion, the maximum sinkings in actual
engagements with Allied naval and
air patrols and the armed guards Of
merchantmen has not exceeded is per
cent
The ratio of sinkings and reported
destruction of submarines. it was
stated at the Navy Department. was
not nearly 60 nl8n year ago OF
at any time before the entrance Of the
United States in the war.
1t is apparent that IL thirteen Of
every hundred reported sinkings Of
submarines have been established as
beyond doubt Won Tirpitz has lost a
very considerable number Of his
weapons of rutfilessness. The reports
| Of sinkings run into the thousands.
London, June 21.-Captain Persius.
| the naval critic of the Berliner Tage-
blatt, admits that German submarines
are unequal to the warfare against
| them. says a Rotterdam dispatch to
the Daily Telegraph. Captain Persius
| writes:
Every layman knows that U-boat
LOSSES are unavoidable, owing to the
continually increasing sharpness and
effectiveness OF the defense measures
of the enemy, which, perhaps, will
further increase as the war progresses.
! ut is scarcely to be denied that our
enemies are both carrying on the war
and living, and that IL will be pos
| sible for them to defend themselves
against tonnage needs for a long time
at any rate. From the beginning of
| the U-boat war it was mistake,
often committed among us, to UNDER
| estimate the resources OF our en-.
| emies."