Convalescent Weapon

The heaviest submarine in the world was ready to go back into action. Capitalne de Corvette Louis Blaison told his countrymen by short-wave radio last week that his vessel would soon again "seek out the enemy."

His vessel is the huge Surcouf, which has been in Portsmouth, N.H. for repairs for two months. On the surface, the Surcouf displaces 2,880 tons, more than twice as much as the sunk destroyer Reuben James (1,193 tons). Submerged, she displaces 4,304 tons. She can cruise 12,000 miles--more than two complete round trips from Plymouth, Mass, to Plymouth, England. She is so big that she carries a seaplane in a hangar aft of her turret.

Most of the Surcouf's crew left her in a British port when France fell, and chose to return home. Captain Blaison last week told how he had got her back in service: "With a small nucleus of veteran submarine men, we built up a crew; we transformed fishermen into gunners, peasants and college boys into electricians, firemen and soldiers into mechanics. . . ."

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