Evening star., 1941-03-07
70 British Warships
Sunk by Fascists,
Italian Editor Says
26 Submarines Sent Down
And 805 Planes FeIIed,
Goydo Declares
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
ROME, March 7.-Virginio Gayda,
the Fascist editor, asserted today
that British sea and air losses at
the hands of Italy total 20 warships,
26 submarines, SO freighters and
tankers, all sunk, 805 planes
shot down and 2l3 destroyed
aground.
Gayda also said 81 British war;
ships 3 submarines and Al freight
ers were damaged by Italian action,
tankers torpedoed and SO planes
probably downed in addition TO the
plane losses which he said were
certain.
He published the figures to show,
as he put it, that Italy is doing her
part in the axis war by straining
vital British tonnage at a time
when every ship is needed In de-
fense OF the British Isles.
Fleet Held in Mediterranean.
Gayda said Italy was compelling
Britain to hold one fleet in the
Mediterranean consisting of 7
battleshipS out of her total of Is,
aircraft carriers, 10 heavy
cruisers, 10 smaller warships and
Is submarines.
In addition. he said, Italy is forc-
ing the British to keep an important
fleet of seven cruisers and more
than 20 other craft in the Red Sea
and Indian Ocean.
Italy's task, he continued, is to
hold constant threats against the
British lifeline and cooperate with
the Germans in the Atlantic coun-
terblockade and to "depauperate"
British forces at home as much as
possible.
Furthermore, Gayda declared,
Italy has forced Greece to mass al
most all her troops on the Albanian
front, leaving her frontier facing
Bulgaria-where Adolf Hitler is
masSing a vast force-virtually un-
protected. CThe Greeks reported
yesterday that they were moving big
forces to Macedonia and Thrace in
the border area facing Bulgaria.
Gayda asserted there now are two
| divisions of British troops on the
/ island of Crete composed of at
least" $1,000 men, including tank
crews, pilots, mechanics, artillery
men and radiomen with new REIN
forcements arriving, besides Gen.
Wavells supposed 20 divisions in
Africa.
| British North African forces, he
said. include three tank divisions
considered among Britain's best
troops three Australian divisions,
two New Zealand divisions, one
Polish division and brigade and
a half of Frenchmen.
In Palestine, the editor went on,
the British have at least three
mixed English and Australian di-
visions in reserve, and another di-
vision at Cyprus. plus about 10000
men on the Sudan fronts and an
other 100000 on the Kenya Colony
front, including English, South
African, Indian, Sudanese and
French troops.
Finally, he listed $4,000 reserves
/ in the British protectorate of Alden.
The British Admiralty, commenT
ing yesterday on what it called aka
"exaggeration" in claims of British
naval losses, said that, while Brit
ain had only Is battleships at the
start of the war, the Germans and
Italian communiques had reported
the sinking of "a.
Although Britain had only So sub
marines at the start of the war, the
Admiralty said, the Germans and
Italians claimed to have sunk II.
If italian and German commu-
niques were to be credited, the Ad-
miralty said, the British Navy has
but Al destroyers left, and its total
of capital ships, aircraft carriers and
cruisers has been sunk twice over.