Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1941-06-04
Half Of Britain's
Pre-War Shipping
Sunk, Nazis Claim
II ,664 900 Tons Declared
Sent Down as New Blows
Are Reported by Berlin
BY the Associated Press.

DS lHe ASSOCldleQ FTeSS.
BERLIN, June 4.-DeStruction of
a 4,000ton British merchant ship
near the Orkney Islands by bombs
last night, damage to two others off
Northern Scotland and two air tor
pedo hits on large British warship
were reported by the high command
today as German sources declared
Britain already had lost more than
half the merchant feet with which
she began the war.
Britain is bleeding to death" from
these blows to her shipping, Ger
mans asserted
The high command said last
nights air attacks were directed
mainly against the harbor of Hull,
England. and port facilities of the
south and east coasts.
British planes did not enter Ger
man territory during the night, it
said, but the British have lost 20
planes in the period from May 20 to
June 3, compared with 10 German
losses.
The British government said
German air attacks on England
last night were on small scale,
with bombs dropped in the east,
northeast and southwest causing
slight damage and few casual
tieS.)
Another British shipping loss
claimed by the German high COM
mand was a transport reported
sunk by dive bombers at Tobruk,
Libya.
1854 900 Tons Claimed.
Since the beginning of the con-
f1ict, German sea and air units
have destroyed a total of 1864 900
tons of British shipping, DNB.,
official German news agency as
serted.
British merchant tonnage at
the outset of the war was esti-
mated at about 21,OO0,OOO tons.
British. figures on Allied shipping h,
losses through April total APP
proximately 5000 900 tonsD
The newspaper Boersen Zietung,
commenting on these figures, said
Britain thus had lost during q
months of the war as much ship
ping as English shipyardS were able
to construct in II years of peace.
Soothing at the idea Britain's
need for ships could be filled by the
United States in time to save her
from defeat. the paper declare d
that according to English figures
only q vessels totaling 22l 900 tons
were launched in American ship
yards during the past four months.
100000 Tons 4-Month Average.
This new construction, it was
pointed out, is only one-third of
Britain's reported shipping losses
for May alone-estimated by the
German high command at 74600O
tons.
Dienst aus Deutschland, authori-
tative news commentary, said that
since February Britain had lost an
average of 100, 900 tons monthly.
Adolf Hitlr's newspaper, Voelk-
ischer Beobachter, said President
Roosevelt failed to state the case
when he said in his fireside chat
May q that "the present rate OF
Nazi sinkings of merchant ships i.
more than three times as high a.
the capacity of British shipyards tt
replace them
In reality, the paper declared
sinkings during the past few months
have been more than 10 times a.
great as British building capacity.
Voelkischer Beobachter prophe-
sled darkly that the Setbacks al
ready dealt Britain would be fol-
lowed by additional blows until the
arch enemy of Europe, the tyrait OF
the oceans, is knocked to the
ground"
Not even the most stubborn re-
sistance will save Britain from the
fate she provoked" it declared.
There was no hint, however, as
to the direction these new blows
;rrH lob