Evening star., 1941-03-22
800 Survivors
Reported Saved
From Ships
b the Associated Press.

BERLIN, March 22.-Adolf Hit
ler's battleships have made an
extensive raid in the North At
lantic and these, with U-boatS
and the LuftWaffe, have destroy
ed the total of 224,000 tons of
"enemy" shipping, it was an
nounced today.
Fleet Admiral Luetjens, as lead
er of a battleship unit, reports as
successes thus far during extensive
operations by strong sea power in
the North Atlantic, the sinking of
total of % enemy merchantmen
amounting to 10000 registered
tons" the daily war bulletin said.
German battleships saved 300
survivors"
First Operations in Atlantic.
DNB. official German news agency,
said it was the first time in
naval history that first-line German
warships in large unit have carried
on operations in the open Atlantic.
Single raiders or a few vessels
together have contributed exciting
chapters to the story of naval war
fare in the past, the agency said,
but Admiral Luetjens took to sea
what was described as "a larger
group"
Five of the vessels sunk were
from Canada, it said, and were very
near enemy battleships" at the
time.
Breakdown of Total.
The high command amassed its
total of 224,000 tons as follows:
Eleven ships totaling 77,000 tons
sunk by submarines which chung
"tenaciously to the foe for several
days" and repeatedly renewed at
tacks on a convoy off the West Afri-
can coast.
A total of 81 600 tons sunk by the
air force yesterday-2O,o0c in an at
tack north of Crete in the Aegean
Sea. 5000 in Bristol Channel off
Pembroke, and 5000 in English
waters southeast of Aldebourgh.
In addition, the high command
said, a destroyer was hit on the bow
by bomb at Malta and another
vessel of 5000 tons was set afire in
the attack near Crete.
announcement by the Ger
mans that German battleships
i,oY i,o
lantic followed by five days the
statement of British Prime Min
lister Winston Churchill that Nazi
"battle cruisers" and submarines
were operating on the american
side of the Atlantic" and had
sunk shipping as far west as the
42nd meridian line which runs
through Greenland, 45O miles east
of Cape Race, Newfoundland, and
1900 miles east Of New York. The
British Press Association yester-
day said Mr.. Churchill referred
10 the two 26,O00-ton German
battleships Scharnhorst and
Gneisenau)
IL Sunk Off West Africa.
The attack on the convoy off the
West African coast was announced
yesterday in a special bulletin by
the high command. At that time,
however, the total tonnage sunk was
given as $4,000 tons and the num-
Der of ships sunk was not listed.
German U-boats attacked q
heavily-laden and protected convoy,
destined for England, off the West
African coast" today's communique
said. THE submarines we're able to
sink ii enemy ships totaling 1000
tons by tenaciouSly clinging to the
foe for several days and repeatedly
renewing the attacks"
In the attacks on conveys between
Africa and Greece near Crete, the
Germans said, fighting planes made
two direct hits on 12,000-ton tanker
which burst into flames and was
considered lost broke into two parts
a second ship of 5000 tons and fired
q third vessel of 5000 tons.
The air force did immense dam
age in another raid on the British
naval base at Plymouth, the high
command said, and extensive fires
were started by bombs of all calibers
dropped on the southern part of the
harbor and at other places among
the docks.