Evening star., 1945-06-14
-Four Out Of 10000
Troops Die al Sea,
Loss Report Shows

LVsS NCPVII SuUWS
The full story-so far as figure
can tell ie-of the losses incurred
In Americas titantic effort to built
a bridge of ships across the At
lantic and Pacific to attack he
enemies during the European phas,
Of the war was on the official rec.
ord today in reports from the Wal
Department and the Maritime Com.
mission.
The reports showed that the wal
at sea cost America 1854 mer.
chant ships up to We day ano
5,579 crewmen dead or missing. The
Army, far surprising its record ir
the World War, transported 4,453,-
06l troops to European battle areas
with the loss of 1904 men, or -four
men for every 10000. In the last
war 7.2 out of each 10000 died at
sea. the Army said.
Since the outbreak of the Euro
pean war on September l, 1899, IL
was revealed for the first time, total
merchant ship losses of the United
Nations and neutral countries were
Alto ships of 2l,l40,0 900 gross tons.
$40 Vessels Go Down.
The bulk of American merchant
tonnage losses were caused by mines
submarines and air attacks, which
took toll of $40 vessels totalling
5,431 ,456 deadweight tons Remain
ing losses-984 craft of S45 ,62l tons
were attributed to accidents in
convoy operations, blackouts, re-
duced navigational aids and other
wartime hazards.
So tremendous was the American
building program. Vice Admiral EN-
ory S. Land, chairman of the Mari
time Commission, pointed out, that
seven tons of new cargo shipping
were constructed for each ton de-
stroyed.
OF the 4,453,06l troops embarked
from the United States, 1904 were
lost on the outbound trips. How
ever. almost every soldier made
at least two trips to sea due to
inter theater and intra theater
moves
Rohna Biggest Loss.
Maj. Gen. C. P. Gross, chief of
transportation, attributed the COM
paratively small loss of life to the
"superlative work of the Allied
navies.' the Allied Air Forces, the
constant vigilance of convoy es-
corts and gun crews aboard trans
ports.
The greatest loss of American
Army, personnel occurred when the
British troopship Rohna was at
tackled by air on November e. 1943,
off Djidjelli, Algeria, and went down
within 80 minutes. Bomb damage
heavy seas and darkness hampered
rescue work and 1,015 men, more
than half the 1881 Americans
aboard, died.
The next greatest toll was in the
sinking of the British controlled
Belgian troop ship Leopoldville.
torpedoed off Cherbourg last De-
cember "a. OF 2,237 American
troops, 764 were lost.
The biggest loss of life on ran
American ship sgcame on April 20,
1914, when the Liberty. ship Paul
Hamilton was hit by an aerial tor
pedo off Algiers, with 504 men and
officers lost.
The decline and fall of Axis effec-
tiveness in the Battle of the Atlantic
were pictured in the year by year
report. In 1912 the toll was 31S
ships, and in June alone of that
year, the enemy sent 49 vessels to
the bottom. But as the new escort
aircraft carriers went to work on
submarine activity, losses dropped to
l29 in 1943 and to only SO in 1914
not counting the vessels scuttled to
form the invasion harbors.
Sunk Before Pearl Harbor
Seven American merchantmen
were sunk before Pearl Harbor,
starting with the City of Rayville in
November. 1910. Between the attack
on Pearl Harbor in 194l and the end
of that December, eight more Amer
lean vessels were lost.
In the Pacific, America has lost
a. ships; in the South Atlantic, AZ;
in the Mediterranean and Black
Seas, 80; in the Gulf of Mexico, 25;
in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean,
27, in the approaches to the Medi-
terranean, 1S, and in undetermined
areas. 7.
Not included in the United States
tabulation of losses were American
owned vessels under Panamanian or
other foreign flags; merchant type
ships operated by the Navy and
listed as naval losses, or vessels
scrspped.
British Lose 2,570 Ships.
The British Empire losses were
2.57O ships of II 100000 gross tons;
other Allies lost 1,172 ships of $780,
900 gross tons; neutral countries lost
400 vessels of 100000 tons.
The War Department announce
ment showed that at least three
American ships went down during
the big Nazi air attack on shipping
In the Italian harbor of Bari on
the evening of December 2, 1943
The list gave total of Is American!
killed in the sinking of three ships
All the incidents did not involve
enemy attack or mines. In at leas
one case collision was the cause.
A total of Al ships on which
American lives were lost is account
ed for in the announcement. AL die
not sink, some being towed int,
port. In addition to the thre,
named above, the others follow cal
of American registry unless other.