Last week represented the quietest week of the war as far as German naval activity was ceoncrned, according to authoritative quarters here. Not a single vessel was sunk through the direct action of German U-boats and there was also marked absence of German aerial activity. The result of this period of quiet was that the total of British tonnage sunk during that period was 6.600, the smallest weekly total since the war began.
Over a vaticd of sixteen weeks British, Allied and neutral vessels sunk by German submarine, wine or naval action have averaged thirteen vessels or a total of 44,000 tons per week, As far as British losses are concerned, the average is 25.500. tons weekly, but this is practically compensated, it is stated, by a weekly tonnage of 25000 acquired throug' new construction and other sources.
The success of the British envoy system against German submarine attacks is illustrated, it is claimed, by the fact that during this period a total of 5,568 ships was convoyed and of this number only twelve were sunk by enemy action, or one-fifth of one per cent. of the ships convoyed.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.