Sinkings of the Week

In war at sea, only one warship last week suffered: the British destroyer Viscount reportedly hit a mine. Meanwhile the week's total tonnage sunk (15,292) was the second lightest of the war to date. The week's biggest sea news was announced officially by the French Admiralty: that Germany is constructing a fleet of 150-ton submarines, which can be turned out much faster than 500-to 740-ton U-boats, and will require only 20 officers & men instead of 35 to 40. These new ships, said France, would be able to cruise only four or five days, but there will be a lot of them available for short raids into Allied waters.

>> The Holland-America Line last week withdrew indefinitely from service its No. 2 liner, Statendam, laid her up in Rotterdam away from risk. The No. 1 Dutch liner, Nieuw Amsterdam, after four unprofitable Bermuda runs, is now on cruise duty to the West Indies. With the Queen Mary and Normandie tied up in New York, the Bremen and Europa in Bremerhaven, no nation, belligerent or neutral, is now risking its big expensive liners in northern waters.

>> Crew members of the sunken Norwegian steamer Lappen testified in Marine Court at Bergen last week that no mine or torpedo sent their ship down, but an explosion set by one of her officers to collect insurance for the owners. None of Lappen's crew was hurt.

>> The U. S. freighter City of Flint, tempest teapot of the war's sixth week, when she was taken captive by Germany, later freed from a Nazi prize crew by Norway, sailed at last out of Narvik for home with a cargo of iron ore. Leaving the harbor in a fog, she whanged into a British freighter, had to put back to repair damaged plates.

>> The German censor proudly released the war's most perfect picture, taken by a U-boat commander, of a torpedoed freight er doing her last curtsy.

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