Landing-craft, Groceries
p. 33 · Read in the full issue
THE London “Daily Telegraph” recently suggested an interesting post-war conversion of a wartime invention — landing-craft. Landing-craft which put down men, guns and heavy equipment on open beaches will, it believes, revolutionise transport in areas (particularly the Paci fic) which lack port facilities.
One Australian shipping firm is re ported to have already offered to buy frbm the British Admiralty, as soon as the war is over, a number of tank-land ing ships and small craft. It intends to use them for its Pacific Islands service.
Cargoes can be picked up or set down with equal facility on hitherto un approachable beaches.
One US naval officer plans to operate landing-craft in the Caribbean. He says that the great beauty of this way of land ing cargo will be its extreme economy— stripned of their military gear a craft capable of carrying several hundred tons of cargo could be run for about 1/- per mile.
Roger Frey, a New Caledonian sub lieutenant in the French Army, has been awarded the Croix de Guerre.
Charles Devaux, a New Caledonian volunteer who has officially been consid ered dead since the battle of Bir Hacheim in Libya, in 1942. has been able to inform his family in Noumea that he is a prisoner in Germany.