The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1918-05-15
GERMANY SAID TO Be
PLANNING new TYPE
OF SUBMARINE:
Realize Allies Have Mastery Over
Present Type
NEW SHIPS EXCEED LOSSES
The French Minister OF Marine Gives
Encouraging Figures on
Shipbuilding

hlSy 10. -hcaIlZl1S
that America and the Allies have
gained the mastery over the present
type of submarine. Germany now is
said to be planning new series Of
big U-boat cruisers with which she
hopes to again assume the advantage
in her unrestricted underwater war
fare.
Announcement of the new German
scheme is made by Georges Leygues,
the French minister OF marine, in an
interview received here today in an
official dispatch from France. No de .
tails regarding the new U-boats were
given by M. Leygues, but from in
formation from other sources, it ap-
pears that the cruiser submarine will
be heavily armed and armored and
will be designed especially to meet
the menace of the torpedo boat de-
stroyers which have proved so effec-
tive in hunting down the smaller sub
marine now in operation.
TO Clean the Seas
NJ. Leygues declared that the Allies
are ready to meet Gcrmany's new eff
forts and that they will not rest upon
the "finc results obtained" in the
past: eve shall not STOP" he said,
until we have cleaned up the seas
as one cleans up trench"
Just how effective has been the
war against the U-boat is shown by
figures on destruction of Allied ship
ping to the naval committee of the
French Chamber of Deputies Satur-
day by Minister Lcygues. They re-
veal that snkings of merchantmen
have fallen off to the point where
new construction is exceeding the de-
struction even now before American
yards are in full swing on the great
building program mapped out by the
shipping board.
Monthly Average
The monthly average of destruc-
tions this year, as given by NJ. Ley
CUES, is $4,000, compared with more
than 100000 tons monthly in 1917.
IN April of last year, :ne first month
of Germany's unrestricted submarine
warfare, the tonnage sunk was ST.
600. In April of this year it had
dwindled to about 268,OOO tons.
On the other hand the destruction
of submarines is exceeding their con-
struction by the enemy and the mar
gin is expected to increase as addi-
tional American destroycrs which now
are being turned out rapidly take
their place with the war craft operat-
ing in the war zone
Total for -Four Months
The total of Allied shi2ping de-
stroyed in the first four months of
1918 was placed by Minister Lcypues
at 1,262,345 tons, and even if the sub
marines are able to maintain this
rate, which officials doubt, the years
total would be something like $780,
600 tons, or less than the estimate |
amount of tonnage which the shipping
board believes America will produce
during the year.
Biz Gain
Adding to American production the
output of Great Britain and Japan,
the Allies would gam for the wear
something ike two million tons, not
counting the 100000 or more tons of
chartered japanese and Norwegian
ships and requistioned Dutch YES
sells.
While encouraging, officials empha-
size the act that these figures do not
furnish the margin Of safety that is
necessary, and there will be no relax
ation Of building efforts in any of the
Allied countries or in America.
England's output thus far this yca,'
has not come up to expectations, and
the American yards have not turned
out the tonnage anticipated because
of freight congestion, and other caus :
cs, and renewed efforts are be:c..
made to make up their deficiencies.