Evening star., 1939-10-16
Merchant Sinkings
Stress Seriousness
Of Royal Oaks Loss
Success Of U-Bouts May
ConviAce MussoIini
He Hos Strong Card
BY COL. FREDERICK PALMER,

BY COL. FREDERICK PALMER,
Noted Military Expert.
A subsequent burst Of sinkings Of
merchant ships Of large tonnage by
U-boats only confirms the serious
ness of the sinking Of the British
battleship Royal Oak, If there is a
possibility that such . disaster can
be repeated. Rightly or wrongly, 1t
encourages the Germans, and may
lead Mussolini. who has gone in
heavily for submarines. to conclude
that he has a strong card to play
against Anglo-French naval power
in the Mediterranean.
Against the submarine menace,
Britain appears not to have started
where she left of in November,
1918, after her hand-earned lessons
in the World War, in view of the
few details we have about the sink
ing of the Royal Oak. All we know
is that she must have been struck
a terrific blow to have gone down 50
quickly that only a third of her per-
sonnet was saved.
What were fast held as utterly
vital naval secrets in the World War
were later divulged in peace in solv-
ing many a mystery and, answering
many long-bruited professional
questions We shall have to wait
until the end of this war before we
are let into secrets which are being
guarded now with equally meucu-
lous care.
Not in Dark About Subs.
Submarine warfare is being prac-
ticed in much the same way as in
the World War. We are not in the
dark about it as we are about the
actual power of planes.
At first, in the World War, the
Germans employed the U-boat only
as naval weapon. In September,
1914, Capt. Won Weddingden sank
the old British cruisers Aboukir,
Crecy and Hague. Later a mine laid
by a U-boat sank the first-class
British battleship Audacious.
Unlike its candor about the Royal
Oak, the British censorship kept the
sinkings a secret, and, even after it
was generally known to the British
public, the censorship refused to eat
crow by public admission until the
end Of the war. But, while the loss
of the old cruisers was of little ac-
count. except as a warning, that of
the Audacious was of most serious
concern to Sir John Jellicoe, COM
mander- -in-chief of the British grand
feet. Sir John had not sufficient
superiority in battleships and cruisers
over the German high seas feet to
risk losing more battleships if the
breaks in a battle should 60 against
him.
Unmoved by criticism of his cau-
ton in the land Of the intrepid
Drake and Nelson of sailing ship
days, Sir John held his fleet in
Scapa Flow behind a mine barrage
and other protection in stubborn
patience. Won Weddingden tried to
dive under the mine barrage only to
be rammed by the battleship Dread
naught. No further submarine at
tacks were made against the British
feet in its fastness.
Germans Forced to Fight.
One day the German high seas
fleet did come out from its safe berth
behind the guns of Helgoland and
was caught in a position where 1t
had to give battle. Skillful as it was
and powerfully accurate as was its
gunfire, 1t was driven back with such
rough handling at Jutland that it
remainded at home until it was
escorted captive to Scapa Flow after
the armistice.
But Sir John did not have to
worry about the now-threatened
wave after wave" of German
bombers, which are two hours and
half away from Scapa Flow 1t
is the blows from the air which may
have led to the scattering of British
major ships. Another reason is the
utterly inferior battleship strength
of the present German navy. The
British may have become a little
careless and overconfident and re-
manned 50 even after the loss of
the aircraft carrier Courageous.
Was the Royal Oak alone, with the
fleet, or with a division or more of
battleships? The big British ships
need not be out on the North Sea
on watch. The radio from the peri
scopes of their submarines on the
scout OF Helgoland would flash the
word If swift German pocket battle