DURING 1938 foreign life-boats went out to the help of 53 British vessels; forty-five of these services were by the United States, three by Norway, two by Holland, and one each by France, Sweden and Iceland.

Belgium.

There were no services to British vessels.

Belgium has 7 stations, with 3 motor life-boats, 6 pulling and sailing life- boats, and 1 tug. Each station has rocket life-saving apparatus, and one station has this apparatus only.

Denmark.

There were no services to British vessels.

Denmark has 61 stations, with a fleet of 23 motor life-boats and 34 pulling and sailing life-boats. Twelve of the stations have rocket saving apparatus only, Finland.

There were no services to British vessels.

Finland has a fleet of 9 motor life- boats.

France.

The French motor life-boat' from Cairo, near Marseilles, went out to the help of the steamer Hillfern, of New- castle-on-Tyne.

The French fleet consists of 44 motor life-boats and 63 pulling and sailing life-boats.

Germany.

There were no services to British vessels.

Germany has 105 stations, 35 of them on the North Sea and 70 on the Baltic. They are equipped with 36 motor life-boats, 53 pulling and sailing life-boats and 62 rocket life-saving apparatus.

Holland.

On 4th April the motor life-boat from Terschelling, belonging to the North and South Holland Life-saving Society, put out in a gale to the help of the British steamer Pegaway, but was recalled by wireless, as the Pegaway's crew had been rescued by a German steamer. On 31st August the motor life-boat from Scheveningen helped the British yacht Rosette, which was in difficulties when trying to get out of the harbour. A very fine photograph of this life-boat, the Zeemanshoop, was published in The Life-boat for December, 1938.

The North and South Holland Life- saving Society has 15 motor life-boats, 18 pulling and sailing life-boats and 19 rocket life-saving apparatus.

The South Holland Society for Saving the Shipwrecked has a fleet of 8 motor life-boats and 3 pulling and sailing life-boats, making a total fleet for Holland of 23 motor life-boats and 21 pulling and sailing life-boats.

Iceland.

The Icelandic patrol boat Aegir went to the help of the Grimsby travflerLincolnshire which had stranded on the west coast of Iceland on 25th October, got her afloat, and towed her to Reykjavik, where she was repaired before sailing for England.

Iceland now has a 60 tons motor life-boat, with a 180 h.-p. engine.

She is equipped with radio telephony, a direction-finder and tachometer. She has a crew of seven men and maintains a constant listening-watch with her wireless. Iceland also has 9 pulling and sailing life-boats.

Norway.

On 19th February a motor life- saving ketch piloted in the British steamer Glen-Fary, with a crew of 16.

On 3rd July Mr. T. O. M. Sopwith's Endeavour, taking part in a race in a heavy gale, lost her mast while leading.

The life-saving ketch Idun was follow- ing the race, with Captain Hans Holter, general secretary of the Norwegian Life-boat Institution, in command. The Endeavour was helpless in the heavy sea, and the Idun towed her in. On 22nd December the same ketch Idun piloted in the British Steamer Rardino, with a crew of 30 men.

The Norwegian fleet consists of 17 motor life-saving ketches, 7 sailingketches and 2 pulling life-boats. In addition there are 32 stations with rocket or gun life-saving apparatus only- Portugal.

There were no services to British vessels.

The Portuguese fleet has 8 motor life-boats and 39 pulling and sailing life-boats. There are also 31 rocket life-saving apparatus.

Sweden.

On the night of 16th March a Swedish life-boat went out to the help of a steamer aground, believed to be British. She came off the rocks and the life-boat escorted her until she could get a pilot for Gothenburg.

The Swedish Society for Saving Life from Shipwreck has 3 cruising motor life-boats, 10 stationary motor life- boats, and 4 pulling life-boats. Seven of its 14 stations are also equipped with rocket life-saving apparatus and it has three with this apparatus only.

The Swedish State Service has 11 pulling life-boats. Seven of these 11 stations have rocket life-saving ap- paratus, and there are six stations with this apparatus only. There is thus a total Swedish fleet of 3 cruising motor life-boats, 10 stationary motor life- boats, and 15 pulling life-boats.

Turkey.

There were no services to British vessels.

Turkey has one motor life-boat and 17 pulling life-boats.

The United States of America.

The life-boats of the American Coast- guard went out to the help of 45 British vessels in distress, rescued 37 lives, and helped 3 other vessels. They also went out to the help of 25 Cana- dian vessels in distress and rescued 37 lives.

The United States fleet consists of 2 large self-righting motor life-boats, 149 self-righting motor life-boats, 155 motor surf-boats and 251 pulling life- boats, making 306 motor life-boats and 251 pulling life-boats, a total fleet of 557 life-boats.

Japan, Latvia, Spain, Roumania, Russia.

No information has been received from Japan, Latvia, Spain, Roumania or Russia.

British Services to Foreign Vessels.

British life-boats went to the help, during 1938, of 24 foreign vessels, belonging to 11 different countries; rescued 124 lives from them; and saved or helped to save 11 vessels.

They were also called out to 19 other foreign vessels, but their help was not needed. Of the 24 to which help was given six were French, four Dutch, three German, two Danish, two Greek, two Finnish, and one each from Nor- way, Sweden, Belgium, Spain and Panama. Thirty-two lives were res- cued from the six French vessels, and two of the vessels were saved; 28 lives from one of the two Greek vessels, and the vessel was saved; 18 lives from the Panama vessel; and 15 from one of the Finnish vessels..