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or ten other ships in the vicinity of Heligoland. The ships were surrounded by ice and an ice-breaker was in the vicinity. Reports from aircraft and submarines on the night of the 19th-20th February indicate that German forces, including the Gneisenau, Scharnhorst, Hipper and Koenigsburg, made a sortie during this period.

The cruisers Leipzig and Koln were reported in North Sea ports on the 15th February, and the Nuremburg as operating in Heligoland Bight from the 18th February.

7. The number of U-boats at sea during the period has been high, and it is estimated that at least nine have been at sea daily, whilst at the moment there are probably about 12 out.

On the 22nd February U-boats were believed to be disposed as follows:--

3 in the Western Approaches.

1 off N.W. Spain.

1 N.W. of the Orkneys.

1 off the Moray Firth.

1 off Norwegian Coast (Lat. 64° N.).

1 outward bound N.W. of Ireland.

1 homeward bound W. of Ireland.

1 homeward bound N. of Hebrides.

2 homeward bound N. of North Sea.

There are numerous reports of German submarines using bases on the north Russian coast. A German tanker, which would provide a suitable depot ship, is believed to be in those waters.

Anti-Submarine Operations.

8. In spite of the increased number of U-boats at sea, the opportunities of effective attack on submarines have been few, due largely to the fact that submarines continue to select unescorted neutrals as their targets, with the result that our anti-submarine forces are rarely sufficiently close to the scene to search with any good prospect of success.

Thirteen hunts were carried out by A/S vessels during the week, including one off the Suffolk coast by the Polish destroyer Burza. Four attacks were made by aircraft.

A promising attack was made in Morecambe Bay on the 21st February by H.M. Trawler Stoke City, and on the same day aircraft attacked a submarine off the Moray Firth which is believed to have been damaged by H.M.S. Edinburgh on the previous day.

Protection of Seaborne Trade.

9. The number of ships convoyed during the week ending noon the 21st February was 853, of which 225 were neutrals, an increase of 65 neutrals since last week.

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The success of submarine and air attacks on single ships has resulted in a considerable increase in the number of neutral ships taking advantage of our convoys on all routes. This trend is shown diagrammatically on the chart attached to this résumé, which shows that the percentage of neutral ships has risen from less than 2 per cent. at the end of December to nearly 30 per cent. at the present time. The lower portion of the chart shows that the number of ships convoyed weekly has steadily grown from just over 300 at the start of the war to about 500 during January, and then increased rapidly to over 800, due to the inclusion of neutrals. The percentage of loss has remained at 0.2 per cent. for the past three months.

Up to date 10,097 ships have been convoyed, of which 8,665 were British, 528 were Allied and 904 neutral. Of these, 19 British and 2 neutral ships have been lost. During the week 48 destroyers and escort vessels and 2 cruisers have been employed on escort duties in Home Waters, in addition to one battleship, one cruiser and seven armed merchant cruisers on ocean escort duties.

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