Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1939-11-08
Accidental Blast Sank
British Submarine,
Churchill Reveals
Novy's Losses Heavier
Than All Other Allied
Forces Combined

BY the Associated Press.
LONDON, Nov. 8-The loss of the
British submarine Oxley by acct
dental explosion was disclosed to the
House of Commons today by Win
ston Churchill, first lord of the ad-
miralty.
Mr. Churchill also reported that
the British Navy alone had suffered
greater loss of life in this war than
all French and British services COM
bined.
However, he added in his weekly
statement on progress of the war at
sea. "a fairly sound, conservative
estimate" of German submarine
losses was between two and four a
week.
Germany. he asserted. was ca
pable Of producing two new sub
marines a week. and he expected
Britain must face 100 U-boats IN
January less whatever sinkings have
occurred"
Mr.. Churchill did not disclose
where or when the OXley was INK
or what. If any loss of life was suf-
fered The Oxley's normal compile
ment was 81.
Britain's known dead in sea war
fare total at least l. $40. including SIS
aboard the sunken aircraft carrier
rnlIroo ON tho no -
Royal Oak and Is killed in German
air raids on the Firth of Forth In
dications are that even the French
Army has suffered much smaller
losses.
Since the outbreak of the war"
Mr.. Churchill said. ''one of our cub
marines. H. M. S. Oxley. has been de-
stroyed by an accidental explosion
in circumstances which made it's
publication inadvisable at the time"
The Oxley was the first subma-
rine loss announced by the British
since the war began. Built in 1867
for the Australian Navy, she was
presented to the British Navy in
1881 by Australia as an economy
measure.
Mr.. Churchill declared three times
as many British hunting craft were
at work now as at the outbreak of
the war.
What I told the House under
much reserve six weeks ago l can
now repeat with more assurance
namely that we are gaining definite
mastery over the U-boat attack
Mr.. Churchill attributed the loss
of the battleship Royal Oak at
Scapa Flow to the fact the naval
bases defenses were incomplete.
Dealing with the additional men,
ace of the surface raider, Mr..
Churchill said 1T is certain that
one, and possibly two, of the So
called pocket battleships has been
out upon the Atlantic trade routes
during the last six weeks
Raiders "Success Minimized.
Minimizing the successes of sur
face raiders to date, Mr.. Churchill
said only two ships, aggregating
10000 tons, have been sunk so far
by surface action compared to 212,-
900 tons by U-boats."
When we remember how Seri-
ously the outbreak of these raiders
was viewed before the war began
it is a matter of some reinsurance
that they have been at large for
some considerable time without
any appreciate damage or incon-
venience to our trade"
He warned, however, that the
element of risk is never absent
from us or indeed from the enemy"
and summed up by saying up to
the present not only has the U-boat
campaign been controlled, but also
the attack by surface raiders, both
by warshipS or armed merchant
men, has not developed in any
serious way
1T seems to me wonderful thing
that when France is making so
great an effort upon land she should
at the same time offer to the al
lied cause so powerful a reinforce
ment upon the sea.
I'VE shall suffer, and we shall suf-
fer continually, but by perseverance
and by taking measures on the larg-
est scale I feel no doubt that in the
end we shall break their hearts"
He declared one of the most waltz
able war prizes captured recently
was taken by the aircraft carrier
Ark Royal which German radio re-
ports have sunk so many times"
Mr.. Churchill's report on naval
activities was his weekly statement
to Parliament on the progress of the
war at sea.