Evening star., 1941-06-08
British Fleet in Mediterranean
Imperiled by German Air Bases
Navy Declared Facing Destruction if 1t Remains;
Vessels Would Be of More Use in Battle
of Atlantic Experts Say
Bp Constantine BrOaOn.


the Mediterranean is becoming increaS-
ingly uncomfortable. 1t is probable that
within the next few weeks they will lose
more important bases.
The fleet is still the backbone of Brit
aims defensive power For the time
being it still reigns supreme in the Med
iterranean, despite the heavy losses it
suffered in Crete But responsible naval
quarters in Washington would like to see
it quit that dangerous section of the
Mediterranean while it can do so with
out losing more vital units. This would
Imply abandoning the Near and Middle
East-a powerful blow to Britain's in
terests and prestige
Many naval experts, while sympathiz-
ing with the British point of view that
the Eastern Mediterranean is important
TO the empire. maintain that for the time
being there is not enough air power in
the empire to defend the islands and
meet the Axis menace in other sections
OF the world Hence, valuableS must be
thrown overheard to save the ship And
they maintain that the British ship can
uables will be recovered when the Axis
ark is sent to the bottom
Air VS.. Sea Power.
There have been many prolonged dis
cussions as to whether ships must hence
forth bow to airplanes Our naval
strategists are open-minded about this
matter. They admit that in lake-like
seas, such as the Mediterranean or the
Black Sea, there is no question that the
nation having the largest air power will
be able to defeat the nation basing its
strength on naval power. But on large
open stretches of water, such as the Pa
ciflc and the Atlantic Oceans, the old
fashioned" Warships still have the last
word.
In the Eastern Mediterranean the Axis
has an air advantage of at least four to
one over the British. They also have in
their possession at this time most of the
key bases. Should they be able to con-
quer Cyprus, too, and that seems to be
probability which should not be dis
counted, they will dominate that section
OF the Mediterranean and render Alexan-
orla untenable for the British Navy. But
even without that historic British base.
the distance from the Cretan airfelds
TO Alexandria is only $50 miles-almost a
JOY ride for the German and the italian
bombers
The general belief in competent quar-
ters IN Washington is that unless the
British withdraw their fleet while there
still is time. they are taking a heavy
chance OF losing a vast proportion of
their naval power in the eastern Medi-
terranean without achieving any con-
elusive result. 1t would be a useless
sacrifice of magnificent personnel and
excellent materiel
Two Exits Open to Fleet.
There are only two exits for the
British from the Mediterranean: One
Is by way of the Suez Canal and the
other is by way of Gibraltar. The fleet
operating between Malta and Asia Minor
can still retire to the western Mediter-
ranean. But the time may come in the
near future when the exit left will be
the Suez Canal. And an attempt to
get through the SueZ Canal might prove,
eventually, a complete failure. That
artificial waterway is SO miles long It's
width varies but it never exceeds 367
feet. 1t does not take much imagina-
ton to realize what will happen to a
feet attempting to get through the
canal in the face of determined at
tack by Axis bombers. One unlucky hit
on a battleship would prevent the rest
of the fleet from reaching the safety of
the Indian Ocean.
The passage to the western Mediter-
ranean is still open to the British. but
the attitude of the French govern
ment might jeopardize the safety of
the British Navy in the entire Mediter-
ranean. 1t has become increasingly
evident in the last three weeks both to
the British and to our own Government,
that Admiral Darlan has taken over the
reins of government of Free France"
and that Marshal Petain has become
only a standard-b bearer. The situation
at Vichy is comparable with that which
existed in Berlin shortly before PreSi-
dent Paul Won Hindenburg's death. He
was nominally the President of the
Reich, while Hitler was its actual leader.
The same situation applies to Petain
and Darlan. The aged marshal is tired