Mr. Schippers graduated with First Class Honors from Glasgow University in 1941. He received a BSc (Chemistry).
Royal Dutch Army
On the morning of Feb 15, 1942, the Dutch merchant ship, Laertes, reported via radio that a submarine periscope was sighted off the coast of Cape Romain, South Carolina.
Less than three months later, HERMAN SCHIPPERS, a 23-year old 'Gunner', was on board when the Laertes left Hampton Roads (VA). The unescorted ship was destined for Bombay India with a cargo of war materials that included three airplanes, 20 trucks and 17 tanks.
In the early morning hours of May 3rd, the lone ship was sighted by German submarine U-109 southeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA. A single torpedo was fired which hit the port side of the Laertes. The crew immediately began preparations to abandon ship. The starboard lifeboat was launched without incident, but when the port lifeboat was launched, with 17 crewmen on board, a second torpedo slammed into the ship at the water line, just as the lifeboat approached the surface of the water. The lifeboat was destroyed and all 17 men, including HERMAN SCHIPPERS, were killed.
The Chief Officer drowned when the explosion hurled him from the deck into the sea. A British sailor who was also thrown into the water was later rescued by a U.S. Navy flying boat. All 47 men in the starboard lifeboat made it to Cape Canaveral about six hours later.
The Laertes went down slowly, stern-first. Out of a complement of 66, 18 men died that day. Among the dead were four British, one Australian, 7 Chinese, five Dutch and one American.
Royal Dutch Army
On the morning of Feb 15, 1942, the Dutch merchant ship, Laertes, reported via radio that a submarine periscope was sighted off the coast of Cape Romain, South Carolina.
Less than three months later, HERMAN SCHIPPERS, a 23-year old 'Gunner', was on board when the Laertes left Hampton Roads (VA). The unescorted ship was destined for Bombay India with a cargo of war materials that included three airplanes, 20 trucks and 17 tanks.
In the early morning hours of May 3rd, the lone ship was sighted by German submarine U-109 southeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA. A single torpedo was fired which hit the port side of the Laertes. The crew immediately began preparations to abandon ship. The starboard lifeboat was launched without incident, but when the port lifeboat was launched, with 17 crewmen on board, a second torpedo slammed into the ship at the water line, just as the lifeboat approached the surface of the water. The lifeboat was destroyed and all 17 men, including HERMAN SCHIPPERS, were killed.
The Chief Officer drowned when the explosion hurled him from the deck into the sea. A British sailor who was also thrown into the water was later rescued by a U.S. Navy flying boat. All 47 men in the starboard lifeboat made it to Cape Canaveral about six hours later.
The Laertes went down slowly, stern-first. Out of a complement of 66, 18 men died that day. Among the dead were four British, one Australian, 7 Chinese, five Dutch and one American.
Mr. Schippers graduated with First Class Honors from Glasgow University in 1941. He received a BSc (Chemistry).
Royal Dutch Army
On the morning of Feb 15, 1942, the Dutch merchant ship, Laertes, reported via radio that a submarine periscope was sighted off the coast of Cape Romain, South Carolina.
Less than three months later, HERMAN SCHIPPERS, a 23-year old 'Gunner', was on board when the Laertes left Hampton Roads (VA). The unescorted ship was destined for Bombay India with a cargo of war materials that included three airplanes, 20 trucks and 17 tanks.
In the early morning hours of May 3rd, the lone ship was sighted by German submarine U-109 southeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA. A single torpedo was fired which hit the port side of the Laertes. The crew immediately began preparations to abandon ship. The starboard lifeboat was launched without incident, but when the port lifeboat was launched, with 17 crewmen on board, a second torpedo slammed into the ship at the water line, just as the lifeboat approached the surface of the water. The lifeboat was destroyed and all 17 men, including HERMAN SCHIPPERS, were killed.
The Chief Officer drowned when the explosion hurled him from the deck into the sea. A British sailor who was also thrown into the water was later rescued by a U.S. Navy flying boat. All 47 men in the starboard lifeboat made it to Cape Canaveral about six hours later.
The Laertes went down slowly, stern-first. Out of a complement of 66, 18 men died that day. Among the dead were four British, one Australian, 7 Chinese, five Dutch and one American.
Royal Dutch Army
On the morning of Feb 15, 1942, the Dutch merchant ship, Laertes, reported via radio that a submarine periscope was sighted off the coast of Cape Romain, South Carolina.
Less than three months later, HERMAN SCHIPPERS, a 23-year old 'Gunner', was on board when the Laertes left Hampton Roads (VA). The unescorted ship was destined for Bombay India with a cargo of war materials that included three airplanes, 20 trucks and 17 tanks.
In the early morning hours of May 3rd, the lone ship was sighted by German submarine U-109 southeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA. A single torpedo was fired which hit the port side of the Laertes. The crew immediately began preparations to abandon ship. The starboard lifeboat was launched without incident, but when the port lifeboat was launched, with 17 crewmen on board, a second torpedo slammed into the ship at the water line, just as the lifeboat approached the surface of the water. The lifeboat was destroyed and all 17 men, including HERMAN SCHIPPERS, were killed.
The Chief Officer drowned when the explosion hurled him from the deck into the sea. A British sailor who was also thrown into the water was later rescued by a U.S. Navy flying boat. All 47 men in the starboard lifeboat made it to Cape Canaveral about six hours later.
The Laertes went down slowly, stern-first. Out of a complement of 66, 18 men died that day. Among the dead were four British, one Australian, 7 Chinese, five Dutch and one American.
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