139% SPARKS STREET OTTAWA, CANADA

UNITED KINGDOM INFORMATION OFFICE

No, 95 London (by cable) June 8th, 1945.

021-105-003

2-3787 TELEPHONES : 9-6482

BRITISH NAVAL LO3SES - "THE TRICE OF ADIviIRALTY"(eonttd .) II . (See Release No . 93 of June 8th) . Although five Briti.sh Fleet Aircraft

barriers have been lost, four (i .e . all except the Ark Royal) were old vessels, and . .S .L have been more than replaced by new carriers (e .g . H Implacable, Indefatigable, Illustrious, Victorious and -i?ormidable) . The 3ourageous (laid down in 1915) was This

torpedoed a fortnight after the war began, while submarine hunting alone .

loss, though serious, provided the valuable lesson thc_t for Fleet carriers to carry out offensive tasks, they murst be adequately protected by other warships . The loss

of H :T. .S . Glorious (also in 1.915) sunk by gunfire from the Schernhorst and Gneisenau during the withdrEwal from T~iorway after she had already performed valuable convoy work in the Indian Oce<^n, recalls the fr_ct that Germany, dospi'te her Luftwaffe superiority did not possess -rdequate se :r c-.nd air power to prevent the Royal Navy from landing or withdrawing the Norway Expeditionary Force . retained eommLnd of the Ser.s . Even in those desk days, the Royal Navy

The British losses off Norway, one aircraft carrier,

two cruisers, and one anti-rircrcft : ;hip, plus smaller vessels, were offset by the German loss of three cruise),:, and ft least eleven destroyers, a much. higher proportion of their smaller surfre . Fleet . The Ubiquitous "Ark Ro yal" The Ark Royal (famous for being the most repeatedly "sunk" British warship by German propaganda) began her valuable wax career when her planes shot down the first German plane of the wrr to be destroyed (over the North Sea) on 26/9/39, the occasion on which the Germ,-.ii Lieutenant Francke obtained the Tron Cross for "sinking" the Ark Royal, Royal Navies . Me Ark Royalts career is typical of the ubiquity of the in 1939, she was assisting/the search In the South 1-tl-ntic in December

for the Craf Spee ; at Nervik: in May 1940, and in the attack on the Schernhorst . at Trondheim ; in June 1940 in ',ho -Nestern Yediterranean with "Force H", where Emiong notc.ble exploits of the Royal planes were the action on 27/11/40 in which hits

were scored on one It,-.1i,,-.n h~ttleship and two cruisers, and on 9/2/41, when they prrticipcted in the Ncvclbombardment of Genoa, Leghorn and Pisa : ,~tlantic in May 1941, she wa;> assisting in the attacks on the Bismarck : In the North Finally she

was back in the bediterrcn(~ .n, where the Ark Royal, like the Barham (above) fell victim to intensified forl>>rn U-boat activity, being torpedoed on 13/11/41 and sinking the next day, while in tow for Gibraltar .

-2Carriers in the Mediterranean The grec,t value of British aircraft carriers in offensive and defensive operations in the Mediterranec.i l is illustrated by the career of H,M .S . Eagle (launched in 1918), After inii,ial service in the Indian Ocean, where, among other

things, she escorted the first Australian convoy to 14en, the Eagle pcrticipated in the first major action against the Itclicn Fleet off Calabria on 97/40, "Aircraft

from the Eagle threw the Itcli , in Fleet into confusion, so th :,t the process of decoying British vessels towards the Itr~l.ir:.n coast to be -tt,-ckod by land-based planes end submarines was turned into a ai  orderly retreat, while the enemy aircraft attacked their own ships ir_ the confusion caused by the defensive smoke-screens" . Tunstall, in "The ti'Torld War At ;call) . (Brian

Though prevented by dcmrrge from participating as

planned in the -,tt,,ck on Tarc.nto, in which, nevertheless, planes from the Illustrious put three Italian battleships :nd two cruisers out of action, H .M.S . Eagle, after supporting the East African campaign in the spring of 1941 and intercepting Germom blockade runners in the South I_tlc.ntic in the early summer of 1941, returned to the Mediterranean for convoy work . The last and most glorious exploit, in which the

Eagle and the cruisers Nlanche ;~ter and Canro and the destroyer Foresight were lost, was in getting in August 1942, a . large and important convoy to 1"lalta (though not without some loss) U-boats, boml , ers, torpedo-planes, E-boats, even cruisers (though these

were driven off by the Eaglo'r : planes) all made determined attempts to destroy the convoy which came through after the destruction of ct least sixty-six enemy planes, two U-boats, and two E-boats, (Pic British lost eight planes, besides warships) .

Escort Carriers The loss of H,M,S, Eap ;t~ for escorting convoys . demonstrated the heavy risk in using Fleet carriers

Fortlan :aely, the new "escort carriers" vessels of about half The first escort carrier

the size of the fleet carrier,, were coming into service .

was H .M.S . Audacity, 5,600 tans, converted. from the captured German motorship "Panover" . The Audacity began operation, ; in September 1941, with convoys to Gibraltar, and immediately began taking her .vy toll of U-boats and attacking planes . In one five-

day battle only two merchcnt ships YvGre lost out of over thirty, while the Germans lost three U-boats and two p3 cnes, The Audacity demonstrated that "flying off" and

11lcnding on" were possible ire l_tlamtic winter weather, 1_espite the small size of her flight-deck, In fact so successful wars she, that the Germans made determined attempts

to sink her in which they eventually succeeded in December 1941, in an attack by at least seventeen U-boats . built up . Frcm that time a large force of escort carriers was rapidly the reach of

Not only did thes,- carriers cover the mid-Atlantic "gap" beyond

shore-based aircraft, but they also became valuable elements in landing forces in

"Despite hc;r greatlDwors of resistance, she was beaten because she was not supported by other ships or aircraft" ; that is, the German theory of using battleships as commerce raiders was provt .%l untenable by the fate of the Bismarck, as it was earlier by that of tht. Graf Spec . Maintaining the British Command in the Mediterranean : Many of the names in the casualty list (the battleships Barham ; the cruisers Gloucester, Fiji, Calcuttai, York, Penelope ; the Australian cruiser Sydney) are associated with the work of the Royal Navies in the Eastern Mediterranean, which despite Italy's entry into the war alongside Germany when British Naval resources were stretched to the liriAt, never become "an Italian Lake", The earliest Mediterranean

actions were connected with ensuring the passage of British convoys through the Mediterranean . H .M .A.S, Sydney was noted for her participEtion in the first two

major eng,gements with the Italian Fleet, the rout of the Italian battleships off Calabria on 9/7/40 and tl,o action northwest of. Crete on 19/7/40, when with a destroyer force, she engaged two It,c.lian cruisers of which she sank one, the Bartolomeo Colleoni, without Briti :>>i loss . (H .1 .A.S, Sydney was eventually lost on 19/11/4-1 in the Indian Ocean, when !i!ie; engaged and sank the armed German raider Steiermark) . The battleship Barhcm b~ came the flagship of the Commander--in-Chief. in the Mediterranean in 1941 . was present on 28/3/41 Following operations off the Libyan coast, H.M.S . Barhem t the famous Cape Matapat rattle, when by brilliantly accurate

night shooting, a Briti :h force of three battleships, one aircraft carrier, four cruisers and destroyer :,, inflicted on an Italian force of three battleships, eleven cruisers End fourteen diwtroyersy a loss of three eight inch gun cruisers destroyers without any 13ritish loss .

end three

The activities of the Royal Navies in the

:t Eastern Mediterrc.neen, increasing to the extent the- at least half of the Axis convoys to Africa were sunk, caused the Germans to divert considerable U-boat forces from the Atlr-nt1 c to the Yediterraneim, one of the results of which was the sinking of the BLrham by a. U-boat torpedo in November 1941 . The loss of H .Y.S . =

York, Gloucester, Fiji -r_d Calcutta wa.s the price pad for the success of the Royal Ncvyts operations off ( ;rete in May 1941, which securoc_ tl c, evc.cuction of over seventeen thousand rritish Corrffe(_)iiwealth troops, despite overwhelming enemy air strength and the necessity of opexrcing in confined writers, suicidal . The Saga. of H .M.S . 'P , nelopeS : conditions usually considered

The cruiser "Pfrelopeel already mentioned in dispatches for her work off Norway in April 1940, ~rined her chief renown for her exploits with "Force K'

139;,M SPAiMS STREET OTTAWA, CANADA

UNITED KINGDOM INFORMATION OFFICE

TELEPHONES : 2-3787 9-6482

/'6' /No . 93 London (by cable) June Qthi 1945 .

BRITISH I\TAV,:L LOSSES - "THE PRICE OF PDI'_IRl1TY '4 The total of British Commonwealth naval losses to 8/5/45 (five capital ships, eight aircraft carriers, twenty-nine cruisers, one hundred and thirty-eight destroyers, seventy-seven submarines, and other vessels totalling over five hundred) emphasises the "price of Admiralty" ; th-t is, the risks that had to be taken to keep open the world sea route :; for Allied shipping and deny their use to the enemy, which was the function of the Royal Nrvies whereon ultimrtely victories of the Allied armies end air forces ov.r Germany depended, Power Wins" ; Brian. Tunstall points out in "Ocean

"So long a;; battleships are used offensively, their loss must be

risked, and it is the es ;,ence of British Naval tradition that, risks shall be run to achieve positive ends" . Nevertheless, the loss of only five Britiah capital ships

comp res favourably with that of sixteen in the ifst wor, especially considering the increased dangers from submarines, aircraft End mines . The following details show The loss of The Prince

that almost every one of these ships sold its life dearly.

of Wales and The Repulse in :December 1941, though grievous, was a. risk deliberately taken, as the Prime Minister told the House of Commons, in the hope thrt they would deter Japan from coming into the war, to The loss of The Royal Ovk in October 1939

German U-boat penetrating Scape Flow, similrrly demonstrates the risk thr.t had

to be taken to maintain a "fleet in being" in home waters within easy range for enemy U-boats and aircr<Lft . ready. When the Bismarck emerged in 1941, the Home Fleet was

The cruisers Norfolk and Suffolk sighted her off Greenland, the Hood and the

Prince of Wales made contact and damaged the Bismarck after the latter had caused the Hood to blow up by a direct hit in the magazine . Planes from the Ark Royal

and the Victorious took up the attack with the aid of Coastal Command, the cruiser Sheffield and destroyers scoring hits which reduced the speed of the Bismarck, guns of H .M.S . King George V and Rodney silenced the Bismarck, which wns The Bismarck action British wrrships are Hence the Bismarck Then

finally sunk by torpedoes from the cruiser Dorsetshire .

emphasizes the contrast between the British and German fleets ; designed for world wid .c: service, the German for a limited range,

could sacrifice crews living space to protective armament and claim to be I'unsinkablet , Brian Tunstc.ll points out th .t the Bismarck not only sank the Hood, but could probably have sunk any other British capital ship had she been given the chance,

-Son 31st May, of representctives-of national offices dealing with war crimes, ??to discuss the best methods of promoting mutual aid between the Year Crimes offices of the various members and closer contact between them and the Commission" . London, the commercial hub of Etizope ~_ad the chief city of the world's Ereitost political unit, Vie British Commonweclth snd Empire, thus continues to ploy her ncturtl role as the focus of multifvrious intern,-.tioncl cetivitys, With the transition from war to peace in Europe, London, so lone. the main-spring of rosistvnce to Gcrmcn aggre ;;sion,
hF.s

become the centre for Europeen reconstruction,

EH

-2informed mad invited to become associated with the work. The Chairman is Ids .

1 . C, Gridley (United Kinr lom) long associated with the coal and Allied industries ; during the war Vice-C&f .rirn of the (British) North African Economic Board, and later Dconomic l.dvisor to the fritish Ambcssador in Paris . D. (The Times 1/6) .

The United Mcritime Authority , established by an internntionol agreement signed

in London on 5/8/44, providing for coming into operation ors the general suspension of hostilities in Europe, of the London Branch under begun functioning on 2Q/15, .. At the innugural meeting

the Chairmanship of the British hinistry of War Transport, Australi,o, Belgium, Canada, France, Greece, India,

the following wore reprer, .nted :

the Netherl<<.nds, hew Zooli nd, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the U .S .A . (A purnllel brunch is in ?~, Tashinv "ton under the Chairmanship The contr<^cting Governments vecopted

of the American War Shipping 4ministra tion) . as

L

common responsibility the "provision of shipping for military and other tasks

necessary for and trisinr out of the completion of the war in Europe and the Fax Ecst, for supplying the liberated areas as well as the United Nations generally, . and other contacting couutriest territories under their authority" Provisions

were mode in the ngreemenk to secure thrt ships under all flogs are used in conformity with the purpoies of the United Nations and to control freight ratea . The Governments concerned ra-e already agreed on the arrangements for coasting and short sea. trades in Eurol,r ., a_ special committee for which will sit in London, with "zone Committees", two in London, one in the Hediterranean area . Unless previously

terminted by agreement, the Unit ed'?.Ta ,tame Authority is to remain in effect till six months ofter the end o C the Far East war . Besides setting up the above new bodies, the following items also indicate the scope of internrtion ;l activity now proceeding in London : 1. The third sc; ; sion of the U .N .R .R .1 Council will open in London on 24/7 "A brief session is planned

on the invitation of the United Kingdom Covernmunt .

to deal with policy ques{ions arising as the relief progrcrme moves into operation during the months follow 2. Basides the
i AF

the liberation of Allied territories'' .

'uropean Regional Office in London, U N .R .R,A established

in London in May 1945 thq Office of the Director General, with Commander R .G .A. Jackson (Australia)
Ps p

:rsonal represen0tive, for a limited period, of Director (In MElta in 1940/1941,

General Herbert Lehanen ftth fully delegated responsibility .

Commander Jackson dealt vitb the orgunisction of special convoys for the relief of the Island : He was appu anted Director General of the Viddle East supply center

in the autumn of 1941) . 3. The United Anions War Crimes Cornission opened a conference in London

139% SPARKS STREET OTTAWA,CANADA

UNITED KINGDOM INFORMATION OFFICE

TELEPHONES : 2-3787 9-8482 No . 94 London (by cable) London,

LONDON'S N'04 INT:i,RN1 :,TIONp.L ACTIVI IIES

/54 ,M; ., -7,

Tune 8th, 1945, _ tq

for so loii;

the home ofmany Lllied Governments in exile, and still

the seat of the European

Ivisory Commission and several combined boards set up by

the United Kin(;dom, and the U.S .t . to effect the complete pooling of resources in the common lm.glo-fmerican wer effort, as well as the Comri)onwealth Supply Council, performing a similer function for the British Commonwealth, has recently become the centre for several new ir,ternationel organisations dealing with the problems of the transition period following the end of the European vTar . A, These are :

A Provisional OrganiS~Ition for Zuropean Inland Trensport-- established by the

agreement signed on 8th h;iy by the Governments of Belgium, France, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the U.S .A. to advise and guide the Governments and other cuViorities concerned in the problems of co-ordinating European international transport and the rehabilitation of the European rail, road, water and transport systc, . .?a The new organisation follows the preliminary work of

the London Conference on !,"uropean Transport since October 1944, and the Technical Advisory Committee on '7nland -Transport since November 1942, Bi Emergency Economic Committee for Europe : May of State, At a meeting in Loaidon on 28th, under the chairmanship of the British Minister/

Pr . Richerd Law, represorttctives of Belgium, France ; Creece, Luxembag, the Netherlands, Norway, Tur), ey, the United Kingdom, and the U.S .A. agreed to set up a Provisionel Emergency Economic Committee for Europe and expressed the hope that all the European Allies woul,l~be ready to assist in the work of such an organisation . Its function is described as "consultation on economic auestions of common interest arising in the period irrmmediately following the cessation of hostilities in Europe, especially those affecting; the production and distribution of supplies in Buropean countries in relation to the flow of supplies from overseas" . Dar . Churchill stated

in the House of Commons on 31st May that this Committee would "where approprif.te, concert the cction of t}ie specialist organisations in the European field" . C, The European Coal Organisation - established by the Governments of Belgium, Denmcsk,

artnce, (reeve, Luxembult,, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the U.S .A., as a. provisional advisory body to make re-commendations end to approach national and interna.tiono.l outhorities and other bodies with the object of ensuring a fair alloc,tion of exportcble coal surpluses . Other Pllied Governments were

_4U-beets, surface ve .-sels . ^.n,i :-iroraft launched some of their most determined attacks 'gc .inst the conveys on th`_s -route, Nevertheless, the First Lord of the Admiralty Two

could state on ",'3/!74- thft G- .n of the ccrgoes consigned got through safely, major British losses in thi :

!,iorl_ were the cruisers "Trinid,-.r: and "Edinburgh" ; the

story of the I!dinbu_:gh i7_lits-l , rtes the determination of the Royal Navy, which r.chioved success despite t-c,~icndcus od6s, racde on ctitr-r~^~. and The "Edin"A-r .h' w,i,n l but she i%il s able to cen i.nue Fron 30/4 to 3/5/45, simultaneous attacks were.

conv , ys by TT-boats, surfa^(D vessels and bombers, r, : .)y/,'-boat on .70/4/,!", Her steering Corr was disabled, -- rc di,.ced s1:)oed .
1

The next day f i?e separate stternpts

were =(1e by ch-rF.a G?r:naAn de. '.,.-.o;rers to brc^_'--. through the escorting i.-a- Ships to attack c; homow-rd convoy :i.d "-er ^ a~ 1 t1-yl .,T~r?,( :d., t-iou,,h one rie_cchc_nt ship ,,,-c-s torpedoed . . On l,hi
E:

-, -)rc
_ .1

~. .

._ . -`v t_chedIi o ns v yS . "Edir.bL1rgh'', then in tow,9 f :,i

~nd h(7;_r escorting dostroye~ :s .

tttY.,~r

damcgec4, H.Y .S .
is_

opeliE;d fire and sunk 'Edinburgh"

=seti ,

dcxncg,;d

~rot_lE:r .

In this ant ion H." .S .

wcs ag-.in torpedoed fnd had ~ -; be abandoned -nd sunk by -che Royal Ncvy, us towing; was impossi'-1_e in the h, rvy sFas rizi)ing throughout the ,actioiis . An outward bound convoy

was ctt,-eked un-,~ccessfui ly l y throe C rmcn destroyers on 1_5/43 and lute,,. dive-bombed by six Turkors six torpec.o-ec r~_yir" _.. :r,_r f t though one of the Junkers wt_,. shot down On 2/5/43,

-tt;a c'.:--ed ,nd sank th- ee ships in tro convoy, though at Irn furtl-er dive-bor_bing on 3/5/43 In the outward convoy, three of

lec.s t one plf.ne r:"cs destroyc_? and others dc ::aged . the enemy ccused no dcil-.go, i --I. :post mother pl,ne,

thirty ships were lots in tic hcumeward convoy, one sh _ -o was lost while the Germa._as lost o. des'U=:-oy,-,r, Conclusion The re-iew in this - nd the proceding rolease, covering most of the major British losses in naval ves- l,, necessarily or;:its the losses in convoy work, especially in the Norti_1 Y~:tlai tic, :where mlir llcr warships, notably the corvettes, hove borne the` brunt of the stiL, ~.t , 1c , ccrriod out by
J" -

ario`,lier s- ;. ;,u,sly damaged,

and at least three plrnes shot down,

Here the Roy-.l Canadian Ncvy, in the lr.,ter stages

Ll.o p?-- :< t, r p,,.rt of the convoy work ..-. a remErkcble v.chievement

for a force thri in 1939 nurf care ~ only six destroyers, besides auxiliaries, and its cork is in i_ tsel f a be fergott :3r, Eu.t the of ;- pleiidid gr_ll<,ntry and. high endeavour
-.bnvE 1 =
= 4 ~ .- u :1

which will never

t of I :otrlle c.ngrgeliicnts
P , ,-, -

by

a:joi, vessels a.lone, their ',.or].,1wlde tasks :

demonstrate, tr;-,From the i,ic to

loxibi

~, -

U ho

I 7" vies in

~, .0g

d hF: l_ ~~<. r~ , from the 1 u,.~:31.oc},e~ P"editorrariean '-~o -. he vast fn, i -c . E..-i.'- ; ii ^T
I. i

spices of t'i-a

vr7_

'Zias boon ^p-ol ecl. nrhor-e requi-ced, with that rou- ,cs confers, ";ow, following the defeft of

erase ~.hicJ1 coia,- .i-_ of tro ":;o , , Germ,-,-'y, it Jtpan, TT

C'.t,T

u=

. . .; n,,,ver before in Z ."iis wc.r on one tusk- the defeat of

- 3the invasions of North hfrier, Sicily and Italy, making possible the provision of fighter cover over any invasion beach . African landings in November 1942 . H .N .S . Avenge r was lost in the North

At Srlerno, the Fleet carriers "Illustrious" (The remaining British

and "Formidable" were sipporlad by five escort carriers . c :crier lost was the "Dasher", released) . The Japanese Driven from the Indian Ocean

are not yet also of escort type ; but details of the loss

The opening of the Pa( Lfic War by Japan coincided with a ses ious weakening of ; British Naval power by the r,cent losses of the Barham, Ark Royal, Sydney, and Dunedin, with the losses of the Prince of Wales and Repulse following almost immediEtely . Nevertheless, the British Eastern Fleet, though comparatively weak,

frustrEted the Japanese attFrnpt to exploit the capture of Singapore,by obtaining command of the Indian Ocean . In April 1942, when a powerful Japanese fleet with

aircraft carriers made heavy rcir attacks on the British basos .i n Ceylon, the British Eastern Fleet (unlike -the Italian Fleet at Tar, .nto) was not in port, In the ensuing

engagements, the Royal Navy lost the fleet carrier "Hermes" (laid down in 1918) and the cruisers "Dorsetshire a_nd "Cornwall" ; but the Japanese Fleet was so mauled the t it never rgr.in ventured beyond the e< .stern fringe of the Indian Ocean . An equally

gallant attempt to stop the Japanese thrust was made by a small Allied force in the Battle of the Java Sea. in Ylr rah 1942 ) in which the cruisers "Perth" (Australian) and "Exeter" and the Dutch crui ; ;c:rs "De Ruyter" ^.nd Java, --nd the Inerican cruiser "Houston" were lost, while armada . The "Perth" and ;c:vcre ci.sul^ties were inflicted on the Japanese invading thus both ended their war service which had taken H .1 1 .i,-S . "Pcrth, following patrol work in the Caribbean until the Battle of Mataapan, and in the evacuation

them around the world .

Mrrch 1940, played a valiant p~:rt in from Greece .

H .M .S . Exeter won undying .fame, with the cruisers "Ajax" and

"Achilles" (the latter New Zucland manned) in the -3attle of the River Plate, in which the "Exeter" bore the brunt in opening stages, being repeatedly hit by the Graf Spee's eleven inch shells, and having her eight inc ; nuns put out of action . Australia has lost three o-i' the six cruiser ; with which she started the H .ll-I,A,S . "Sydney" and Perth~ the C,,~:nberra
wES,

Besides

{which hard fought a number of

engagements in the Indirn ocean at the beginning of the war) was lost in the Battle of the Solornons in August 1542, which marked the beginning of the turning of the tide a E;a.inst Japanese in the Southwest Pacific,

The T?avy Y ^,inta.ined Deliv : :i , ies to Russia Through the Arotic One of the most di t'ficult tasks of the Royal N,-,ry Arctic convoy route to Ru:v ;,ia .
ws

s the maintenance of the

.' Besides the hazards o- the sea_ and weather, - German

(the cruisers Penelope and Aurora, and the destroyers Lance and Lively) based on Malta and in 1941 : the most famous of these ac[iievements- was the complete destruct-

ion on 9/11/41 of .two Italian convoys (ten merchant ships) with two escorting Italian destroyers, without British loss . H.Y .S . Penelope then participated in

escorting convoys to Malta, where she' was seriously damaged by bombs on 26/3/42, and had to spend a fortnip,ht in drydock, where she became the object of such fierce attacks th<t the resulting; holes in her side earned her the nickname of H .I,T .S . Pepperpot" . Howev-r, temporary repairs were completed, enabling H.1~i .S . for permanent repair . She returned to the

Penelope to sail for the [T .S .A .

Mediterranean in time to [)Frticipete in the bombardments of Lenpeduisa and Pentellaria in June 1943 . Later she was one of the w,-.rships giving close support

in the Salerno (September 1943) and Anzio (J,-.nuary 1944) landings, being sunk with the cruiser SpErtan, two destroyers and five major assault vessels, in the

letter operations, of which the First Lord of the Admiralty declcred on 7/3/44 ; of "The support of the navy/these amphibious operations was only at a greet price ." Such cetions foreahEdowed west Europe when over onE the support of the N-.vy in the invasion of north hundred and forty thousand rounds were fired in seven (including the British battleships Warspite, Rodney,

months from Allied warships

End Ramillies) supporting milit,ry operations ; ^nd eight thousand rounds in bombarding special targets .

Note -" (Further relerses

E,vill

deal Tnith carrier losses, losses in the Juprnese

war,

and with the work of the; Artic convoys) .