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Naval units in German occupied ports seem to be disposed as follows: Destroyers and T.Bs. at Brest and Cherbourg, submarines at Lorient, and E-boats and patrol ships at any suitable port, though concentrations of these smaller ships have been observed at Havre and Boulogne during the week. Some of the submarines known o be at Bordeaux are believed to be Italian. There is no important change in the disposition of barges and merchant shipping. The German submarines con- tinue to be disposed with two or even three far out between 16° and 22° West and two or more others spaced at intervals nearer in to the North-Western Approaches. On occasions these have been noted as following particular convoys. One submarine has been reported working as far south as 45° N. in a longitude W. of 15° for the last three days.

Information received during the week has confirmed the opinion that there. are four enemy raiders at large. One is probably in the South Pacific and Tasman Sea, one in the Indian Ocean, one in the Atlantic in the vicinity of the Equator and one in the North Atlantic.

Italian.

16. A series of air reconnaissances of Italian naval ports during the period under review have shown that the main force of the Italian Fleet is still concen- trated at Taranto and a further small force of cruisers and destroyers at Brindisi. On the 13th October the Taranto forces were reported as: Outer Harbour-3 or 5 battleships, 10 or 8 cruisers and a large number of small craft; Inner Harbour- 3 cruisers, 6 or more destroyers and small craft. In addition to these concentra- tions small forces of destroyers have been observed in the Ionian Sea off the coast of Sicily and in Benghazi. Two Italian submarines are still believed to be working between Spain and the Azores, but there is no recent news of them.

Enemy Merchant Shipping.

German.

17. It has been reported that six ships have received orders to get ready to sail from Vigo, and their destination is believed to be Bilbao. Crews for these ships are said to have been made up from the other two ships in the port.

The Norwegian whale factory ship C.A. Larsen (13,246 tons) was reported to be at Trondhjem on the 8th October.

The Annaliese Essberger (5,173 tons) and the Kulmerland (7,363 tons) are believed to have sailed from Kobe on the 9th October and the Scharnhorst, in the same port, is reported to have loaded to capacity with oil fuel. The Eisenach (4,423 tons), which is at Punta Arenas, Costa Rica, was reported to be sailing on the 12th October with only three days' coal bunkers aboard, but she has been held up for coal. A small quantity is available at Manzanillo if ten days' notice is given.

It has been reported that the Cerigo (1,120 tons) is likely to sail from Guayaquil, Ecuador, shortly for Japan. She will fly the Japanese flag when outside territorial waters. She may, however, have difficulty in obtaining a supply of coal. The Klaus Schoke (5,848 tons), at Horta in the Azores, has recently taken 100 tons of coal from the Luise Bornhofen, is reported to be anchored eastward of the middle breakwater and it is likely that she will sail. The Luise Bornhofen (2,860 tons) is also anchored very close to the breakwater. The tanker Gedania (8,923 tons) sailed from Las Palmas in the early hours of the 15th October. She had a cargo of 9,000 tons of whale oil also fuel oil which she had taken from another German tanker.

Italian.

18. The Franca Fassio (1,858 tons) is reported to have been torpedoed and sunk off Savona in the Gulf of Genoa with the loss of nearly all on board, including eighteen passengers, four of whom were Spanish. She had been plying regularly between Genoa and Barcelona.

The Antonietta Costa (5,900 tons) reported on the 9th October that she was being attacked by a submarine in a position to the West of Durazzo.

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