Evening star., 1939-12-03
Naval Loss in War
Is -Four Per Cent,
British Declare
Meanwhile, II 900, 900
Tons Of Shipping Has
Been Kept at Sea
BY the Associated Press.


LONDON, Dec. 2-An authorita-
tive announcement asserted tonight
that Britain's big navy had enabled
100000 tons of British shipping
to keep to the seas with a loss OF
just 4 per cent of her total navy
tonnage" in three months of war.
This declaration followed closely
the disclosure of another British loss
to mines in waters around England,
the sinking of the 8,0l0-ton British
tanker San Calisto of the southeast
coast. Two of her crew were killed,
seven injured, and IS landed unhurt.
A Reuters British news agency
dispatch from Bergen tonight also
said the l,277-ton Norwegian steam
er Arcturus had struck mine of
the Eastern coast of Scotland Friday
and that 8 of her crew of II were
missing.
Balanced against this was the
capture of two German vessels, the
2.185-ton steamer Eilbek and the
2l5-ton trawler Sophie Busse, and
the reported beaching of the 9,521-
ton German liner Watussi by her
own crew.
Trawler Reports Sub Sinkings.
The crew of an unnamed admiralty
trawler reported the sinking Of one
Nazi submarine and possibly sec
ond off the east coast this week.
After sinking the first U-boat, the
crew said they attacked another
with depth bombs and that oil
patches indicated they had been
successful.
The Watussi was run ashore
south of Cape Point, Union of South
Africa. by her German crew after
being intercepted by South African
bombers. Her IS passengers and
crew of 127 were rescued.
This was the eighth German
steamer beached or scuttled to avoid
capture.
The British statement said that
Germany had put out OF action
through sinking only about $4,000
tons of British warships and the
most important units in the group
were quarter of a century old y
Britains chief losses were the
29.15O-ton battleship Royal Oak and
the % $500 ton aircraft carrier Cour-
ageous.
Had 100000 Naval Tonnage.
The statement said Britain had
100000 tons of war craft of all
types at the start of the war and
added this makes no allowance for
completions from one OF the most
extensive building programs the
world has ever SEEN"
Naval losses were described as
"part OF the price for removing frcm
active participation in world trad
ing of some 4,500,000 tons of Ger
man shipping and bottling up,
except for spasmodic raids and gen.
eral piratical work of the whole Of
German naval forces"
Anthony Eden, dominions secre-
tary in the war cabinet, warned in
an address at Warwick against "un-
derrating" Britain's war task. He
asserted "Germanys whole economy
has been twisted for war purposes
- it is Britain's power, influence
and authority that Germany is out
to break"
Sea warfare in the thirteenth week
of the European conflict, after max
ing the twelfth record one with 81
sinkings, eased off to slightly above
the seven-day average.
Fifteen vessels of six nationalities
were destroyed, as mines continued
to substitute for warships and sub
marines as the greatest threat to
shipping.
Seven of the ships were known to
have been sunk by mines, as were
probably several others listed as vic
Tins of explosions. Two were de-
stroyed by submarines, including the
former Polish liner Pilsudski, which
had been chartered by the British
admiralty, and the German steamer
Borkum, which was sunk by Ger
man U-boat after her seizure by a
British prize crew.
Mines Far Ahead In Score.
In three weeks since November
18 mines have sent at least 26 YES
sells of 87,861 total tons to the bot
tom, carrying with them 210 per-
sons. In the same period only
u ships of 55,305 tons have been
sunk by submarines or warships,
but BAT persons have died in those
disasters. Effectiveness of mines
prior to that date was compare
lively slight.
Since the outbreak of the war on
September 3 only AZ ships are known
to have been sunk by mines, but
many others were destroyed by un-
explained explosions" - meaning
mines or torpedoes. On the other