Evening star., 1940-03-23
British Battle
Subs for Danes
Food Exports
Denmork's Shipping
Losses Raised to
28 by Sinkings
BY the Associated Press.

70 by Sinkings
BY the Associated Press.
LONDON, March 23.-New Ger
man submarine onslaughts against
vital shipping lanes brought in
creased British efforts today to coax
neutral vessels into conveys and keep
them at the job of furnishing the
food that means more than NUM-
tions in the rival campaigns of star
vation.
Typical of British reaction to the
announcement that seven neutral
ships have been sunk by submarines
in two days was the News Chronicle
editorial that "Neutrals know where
safety lies :. Gin British convoys)
{. but they are slow to apply their
knowledge"
The fact that six of the latest VIC
TINS were Danish was seen by some
circles as an indication that Ger
many was trying to persuade" Den
mark to divert her famous dairy
products to German markets. DAN
ish butter, bacon and eggs help sup
ply the breakfast table of British
soldier and civilian alike.
In 1898, British imports of Danish
foods included $4,000 tons of butter
and s6,776,OOO dozen eggs, about one
fourth and one-third, respectively
of total British consumption.
(The Danish government today
instructed its ministers to both
Berlin and London to ask for an
opportunity to discuss how to
diminish the consequences to
Denmark of the present sea
warfare. dispatch from Copen-
hagen said. Denmark in addition
to losing merchant ships at sea
has been the victim of bomb ex-
plosions on her soil and of viola
tons of her territory by airplanes
OF the warning nations)
Losses Raised to 28 Ships.
The latest Danish sinkings raised
that country's losses to % ships,
totaling $1,000 tons, about 4 per
cent of her merchant fleet.
Impressing the British with the
probability of stormier days ahead
were reports of large concentra-
ton of German submarines just
outside Norwegian waters and the
statement of a German commander
to a Norwegian fishing captain that
submarines soon would be las COM
mon as fishing boats
British warships today discovered
RATS from the Danish steamer
Charkow, reported sunk. probably
by torpedo. yesterday. The body of
a seaman was on one raft, but there
was no other trace of the Is reported
missing.
On the British credit side was the
sinking Of the German steamer
Heddernheim near the entrance to
the Baltic Sea, reported yesterday as
the first such action by a British
submarine.
Deny German Ships Bombed.
Some quarters regarded the loca-
ton as tip that Britain was start
ing a campaign to block Scandi-
navian ore shipments to Germany
in spot at which the allied block
ade long has been leaking.
On the aerial side of the blockade
battle, the Air Ministry denied that
British planes had bombed German
and other merchant ships off the
German coasts, as reported by DNB,
the official German news agency.
One of the German bombers
which participated in a raid on a
British convoy in the North Sea
Wednesday was reported to have
reached home with only one engine
operating after being hit by British
pursuit plane fire.
The crew of this plane was quoted
by DNB as saying it had sunk a
tenth ship, of about 5000 tons, in
the convoy raid. The British have
denied that any ships were sunk by
the planes.
Skeptical of Newsmen's Tour.
British newspapers meanwhile. .ex-
pressed skepticism over the extent of
a tour which three American news
papermen were allowed to take on
the island of Sylt following the
British air raid on that German base
Tuesday night.
The reporters had said they saw
no evidence of extensive damage.
''Nazis Bluff U. S. Reporters" ran
the Telegraph headline, and others
printed extracts from the Americans
stories. The Mail said Germany was
using her favorite method of giving
the world l per cent truth in the
hope that they would swallow 80 per
cent falsehood."
The Air Ministry insisted that
British 1yers had confirmed success
of the operation again Sylt "by OBJ
servation," although saying that
weather conditions and German
ground defenses has made it impos-
sible to obtain good photographs of
the damage.