Evening star., 1942-03-17
TRpitz IsLoose
ToRaidConVoys,
British Fear
Norwegian Ports Are
Shut by Germans;
New Drive Hinted
BY the Associated Press.

new GfiNS nInt&Q
BY the Associated Press.
LONDON, March 17-Closing
by German authorities of all Nor
wegian ports from North Cape
to Aalesund, a responsible source .
said today, makes "it appear
ominouSly as though the Nazis
are getting ready either for an
assault on American-British sup
ply lines to Russia or a move
against Iceland"
Meanwhile, Britain, already feel
ing the pinch of lost warships and
merchantmen, was warned by an
other British informant that the
battleship TirpitZ, Germany's new
est, biggest and most dangerous, may
now be loose on the high seas.
The announcement by the second
source that the powerful warship
appears to have avoided" an aerial
torpedo attack dashed British hopes
that naval planes had knocked her
OoS O4 bAAC wal db 4CdoO 4O1 d"1llICR
near the Norwegian port of Trond-
helm eight days ago.
whereabouts Unknown.
This source said he had no infor-
nation about the present where
abouts of the Tirpitz, sistership of
the tough Bismarck which sank the
British battle cruiser Hood single,
handed and in turn was sunk when
heavy British air and sea forces
cornered her and pounded her to
pieces last May 81.
The informant pointed out these!
additional German naval and mill
tary moves as indicating the likeh-.
hood of a new major campaign in
the north:
Todays announcement by the
Nazi high command of intensified
fighting in Lapland, extreme north
ern area which at the Russian
frontier is only so miles from the
Soviet Arctic supply base of Muir
manSk;
Authoritative information that
the Germans have sent strong re-
Inducements TO their Norwegian
garrisons.
This source said the Germans now
are believed to have between 150, 900
and 200 900 soldiers in Norway, in
comparison with the 100000 re-
ported there last autumn"
Grave Implications.
The news of the possibility Of the
escape of the Tirpitz had grave i'm
plications for the British since a
warShip as mighty as the Tirpitz is
| so grave a menace to sea conveys
that strong British naval forces, in
cluding battleships, must be diverted
from other work to meet her chal-
lenge.
Britains navy now Is spread thin
| from the Far Pacific through the
Mediterranean into the Atlantic.
The new threat of the Tirpitz on
the loose in the northern seas occurs
as those waters apparently are de-
veloping into major spring war
theater to maintain the avenue of
British and American supplies for
Soviet Russia.
The Importance attached to Sc
curity of the Northern sea lanes was
| indicated today in an Admiralty
communique which disclosed that
British auxiliary mineSweeper had
| shot down a German JU-88 in an
attack on a Russian merchantmen.
Conversely, Germany'S efforts to
| stop the flow of supplies to the
| U. S. S. r. also was indicated by
her use of a dive-bomber for such
mission. They are used ordinarily
only in heavy combat.
Activity on LapIand Front.
The far north front also was en-
phasized in today's German high
command communique. which re-
ported successful Nazi Alpine shock
troop operations on the Lapland
front and heavy air activity.
After the recent British aerial
torpedo attack on the Trpitz, the
British informant said, the German
battleShip retired toward the Nor
wegian coast under smoke screen
and was lost there among the fjordS.
When the attack on the 28-knot
Tirpitz was made, he said, she prob
ably was within cover of fighter
protection, but the attacks were
pressed home under rather difficult
weather conditions"
The Tirpitz and the heavy cruiser
Prinz Eugen were located in
ford near Trondhe1m before the
Tirpitz sailed, he said.
The PrinZ Eugen had been tor
pedoed on the passage to Trond-
helm, he added. Thus, he con-
tinued, the three ships which made
the recent dash through the Eng
lish Channel-the Gneisenau, the
Scharnhorst and the Prinz Eugen-
were accounted for.
"All we're damaged" he declared.
The British previously had
claimed that the battleships GneiSe-
nau and Scharnhorst were damaged
In the run through the Channel.
Now, the spokesman said, the
British home feet had to cover the
possibility that the German ships
at Trondheim might try to break
out into the Atlantic or attack the
British supply route to Northern
Russia.
He declared it was mot a practi-
cal proposition" to intercept with
surface units a single ship like the
Tirpitz near the coast unless she
was winged" by torpedo bombers.