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      only one effective passage of entry to the British Isles namely, 
      the northern approach, against which the enemy is increasingly 
      concentrating, reaching over farther out by U-boat action and 
      long distance bombing. In addition, there have for some months 
      been merchant ship raiders both in the Atlantic and in the Indian 
      Oceans. And now we have powerful warship raiders to contend with 
      as well. We need ships both to hunt down and to escort. Large 
      as are our resources and preparations we do not possess enough.
 
      7.The next six or seven months bring the relative battleship 
      strength in home waters to a smaller margin than is satisfactory. 
      The "Bismark" and the "Tirpitz" will certainly 
      be In service in January. We have already the "King George 
      V" and hope to have the "Prince of Wales" at the 
      same time. These modern ships are of course far better armored, 
      especially against air attack, than vessels like the "Rodney" 
      and "Nelson" designed twenty years ago. We have recently 
      had to use the "Rodney" on trans-Atlantic escort and 
      at any time when numbers are so small, a mine or a torpedo may