Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-03-20
Day by Day
Jap Ships
60 Down
Navy. Army Peck Away
at indispensable
BY PAUL MALLON

the Jap war front has been lost
in scattered communicates.
II is true our navy has not
done much with the main Jap
battle fleet. II has not even been
] seen since the war started. The
laps are keeping their big CAPT.
tai ships out of their South
I Pacific campaign in fear of our
flying fortreSSeS and submarines.
Big battle wagons do not even
carry depth bombs for defense
against subs. AS they cannot be
maneuVered swiftly they must
rely on deStroyers for sub pro-
lection, and upon aircraft car
riers for protection against
planes.
But day by day in every way,
our navy and army have been
peckinG away mainly at the in
diSpensable, but unspectacular.
phase of the Jap attack-the
transport, supply and tanker
ships and their convoy pro-
lection.
Up 10 Wednesday night the
United Nations had put out of
action nearly one-fourth of
Tokio'S estimated supply wagons
Of the sea. without which their
advance cannot be maintained
or their conquests held, and Al
of the cruisers protecting them
tout of a total est m I e d
strength of So Jap cruisers).
TlIE Scoreboard in this supply
shipping here shows: sunk,
40 Including seven by the Aus
tralians); damaged, Sd in
Guiding Is by the Australians) ;.
total put out of action. 164.
Jap merchant marine strength
was estimated at 1913 ships for
this type of service on the eve
of the war. counting everything
above 1000 tons.
OF these TT were freighters.
1872 combined passenger and
cargo ships and 40 tankers. But
1872 were under 1900 tons and
could not be used for the far
flung service of this attack.
So 736 is a fair estimate Of
what the Japs could use and
l6i is about 223 per cent of this
now counted as out Of action.
This pinch of ships is i'm
portant, furthermore. because
the Japs cannot produce them
as we can. Her merchant ship
building capacity is limited to
100000 10 100000 gross tons a
year while we expect to build
100000 gross tons this year
and 100000 next.
EVEN with the m a m Jap
II fleet hiding at home. the toll
of fighting ships is beginning to
mount. United Nations claim
TO have put out of action four
stray battleships of an esti-
mated Is Git may be more) in
the Jap fleet. Only two were
sunk, two damaged.
Jap loss in aircraft carriers
has run higher than you would
think with half her estimated
strength put out of action
(three sunk. two damagedD.
Cruisers and destroyers are
types she must have 10 protect
her supply conveys. We claim
II cruisers sunk, 27 damaged, or
a total Of "A out of action. (She
is reputed TO have only Sc, but
she probably has moreD OF her
estimated strength of 1876 de-
Stroyers, % are claimed sunk,
II damaged. or a total of 81
In submarines, her losses have
been light, 10 sunk and two
damaged out Of an estimated
strength of 7S. Sub losses. how
ever. are difficult TO calculate
accurately. and no doubt she has
lost more than claimed.
| WHEN you add il all up. the
w dismal setback we suffered
in the Java Sea tloSS Of II fight
= ing ships of the United Nations
without compromising compare
tive damage TO the Jap navy
appears less discouraging.
Undoubtedly this was the
greatest loss our side ever Suf-
fered actually fighting on the
high seas under any flag in any
war, If measured in United Ma
tons losses against enemy losses.
Apparently the Dutch COM
mander exposed his Joint fleet
north Of Java without an avenue
OF escape. Details are lacking.
But the navy now believes il
has sunk So Jap vessels of all
classes since the war began. the
army 10 the Dutch 81. Austria
llanS 7-l75 sent TO the bottom.
The navy claims 10 have dam
aged - more of all classes. the
army u the Dutch 30. tho Aus
trallanS l3-93 more out of com
mission This makes a grand
total OF 26S ships that have been
pui out OF action
The SCorccard does not COM
pare sharply with Admiral Shi-
maddS claim that the United
Nations have lost seven battle
ships two aircraft carriers. II
cruisers. p deStroyerS, ~ sub
marines CwhoOpn and - other
warShlpS sunk mosquito boats? -