0p-12-D-LED/hjw
 
                         All British Navy Yards are on the
south and east coasts, and they have become untenable 
due to their being continually bombed by the Germans 
from bases in France.
 
                         (h) Insufficient Ships and Planes 
Available to Employ Groups to Hunt Down and Destroy 
Submarines and Planes along Routes Convoys are to use.
 
                         The plan used by the British, due to
lack of sufficient ships and planes, is to route shipp-
ing so as to avoid areas in which energy submarines and 
planes are known to be located rather than having suffi-
cient destroyers, submarines, and planes keeping the 
routes clear which it is desired to use.
 
                         During the month of March an average
of 14 energy submarines were knovm to be at sea from 
Gibraltar to Iceland. They were on the arc of a circle 
between these two points, most of them being on the 
northwestern part of the arc. With the limited number 
of ships available four enemy submarines are known to 
have been sunk during that period. With more destroy-
ers and planes available it is anticipated many more 
would be destroyed.
 
                         (I) Inadequate Anti Aircraft and
Fighter Plane Protection at Assembly and Unloading
Ports.
 
                       This allows the Axis powers to drop 
acoustic, magnetic and contact mines from planes in 
the entrance to all the ports of Great Britain, and 
even in the inner harbor and rivers. Great loss of 
time is experienced sweeping these mines, and many 
ships are lost from mine damage.
 
     2.       It is realized that the British have
a hard task to perform, and their Navy is spread very 
thin over the world. The above comments are not made 
in any critical vein, but rather in an effort to pro-
perly evaluate the methods used and results obtained 
with a view to avoiding their errors if we enter the 
war.
 
     3.       It is essential that the largest
number of ships possible reach the British Isles in 
the shortest possible time, with as little loss as 
possible.
 
                                               -3-