CURRENT LITERATURE
The " Splinter Fleet " was the name given to the little U.S. submarine chasers that did such effective work in the Mediter- ranean during the later stages of the last War. The boats were of wood, about Ho ft. long, and had petrol engines that gave them a top speed of 15# knots. Their crews seem to have consisted mostly of college graduates who knew a lot about engines, but nothing about the sea. The author, who served as a chief engineer, was making his first trip as a sailor, and he writes very entertainingly of the early days when even the captain was sea-sick. But they soon shook into shape, and proved their worth as convoys to troop-ships, and as part of what was known as the Otranto barrage, which was aimed at bottling up the enemy submarines in the Adriatic. Mr. Millholland has written a lively and exciting account (Cresset Press, 'cis. 6d.) of some episodes of the War that have not before been described at first-hand.
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