Evening star., 1941-03-18
Bridge of Ships

The announcement by LlOydS that
British, allied and neutral shipping
losses during the first eighteen
months of the war totaled just under
100000 tons comes as significant
sequel to President RooSevelt's
pledge of an American-made bridge
of ships" to carry arms and food
across the Atlantic to those who are
fighting the good fight"
It is perfectly evident that mer-
chant shipping is going to exert a
profound if not decisive influence
on the course of the war this year.
Hitler, foreshadowing an intenSifica-
ton of the counterblockade, has
stated that the Reich's submarine,
air and surface forces will overlook
no opportunity to sink any ship car
rying supplies to England, and there
is every reason to suppose that this
threat will be carried out if possible,
for England can be brought to her
knees without risking an invasion if
the counterblockade can be made
sufficiently effective In the face Of
this defiant Nazi attitude, however,
President Roosevelt has given un-
equivocal assurance that Britain and
her allies will get the planes, arms
and food that she needs from this
country. The precise means by
which the President proposes to i'm
plement this promise of ever-increas-
ing aid are as yet undisclosed, but
there can be no doubt that ships and
more ships will be needed.
The German toll of British and
neutral shipping during this war has
never reached the high point Of
April, 1917, when vessels aggregating
$1,000 tons were sent to the bottom.
That was in the third month of un-
restricted submarine warfare, and
before the convoy system had been
worked out. The trend of sinkings
since the start of this conflict, how
ever, has been ominously upward.
Prior to the fall of France weekly
losses averaged $4,000 tons During
September, October and November
of last year-after the Nazis had &C
quired bases along 1000 miles of
coastline from Narvik to Bordeaux
this weekly average jumped to $4,000
tons, and it may we'll 60 higher when
the enlarged German submarine fleet
gets into full action this spring. Re-
ports that a U-boat has been sent to
this side of the Atlantic may be
portent of what is to come.
This dark picture is not entirely
devoid of bright spots, however.
Since the start of the war Britain has
acquired some 100000 tons of ships
from Norway, the Netherlands, Bel
GUM, France, Denmark and the
United States. She must also have
built and commissioned a number of
new vessels of her own, so that the
total British merchant marine
strength, which was something over
$4,000, 900 tons at the start of the
war, must be well over 100000 tons
now, despite the losses just an
nounced. This increase, of course,
must be balanced against the corre-
spending loss to Allied and neutral
shipping which formerly piled the
trade routes to Britain.
The next few months should give
some indication of the final outcome
Of this desperate struggle between
the forces of blockade and counter
blockade. For Britain, the all-impor-
tant objective is to keep the freight
ers and the tankers moving through
the $4,000 square miles of perilous
waters constituting the western ap-
proach to England. Viewed from
this distance, the task does not seem
an impossible one If the Presidents
bridge of ships" can be transformed
.nto something more than a colorful
1gure of speech.