Laplace
Photo courtesy of the Allen Collection
| Name | Laplace | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 7.327 tons | ||
| Completed | 1919 - A. McMillan & Son Ltd, Dumbarton | ||
| Owner | Lamport & Holt Ltd, Liverpool | ||
| Homeport | Liverpool | ||
| Date of attack | 29 Oct, 1942 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-159 (Helmut Witte) | ||
| Position | 40.35S, 21.35E - Grid JJ 2795 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 63 (0 dead and 63 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Port Said - Lourenco Marques (24 Oct) - Buenos Aires | ||
| Cargo | 6988 tons of coal | ||
| History | Completed in February 1919 | ||
| Notes on loss | At 21.18 hours on 29 Oct, 1942, the unescorted Laplace (Master Alexander MacKellan) was hit in the foreship by one torpedo from U-159 southeast of Cape Agulhas, South Africa. At 21.55 hours, a first coup de grāce missed, but the ship sank by the bow after being hit by a second coup de grāce fired at 22.07 hours. The master, 55 crew members, five gunners and two passengers abandoned ship in three lifeboats and were all rescued. The occupants of one boat were picked up by a SAAF crash boat and landed at Port Elizabeth and the men in the boat of the third officer were picked up by the American Liberty ship George Gale and landed at Aden. Eleven survivors were picked up by the Porto Alegre, which was sunk 3 November by U-504 (Poske) and landed together with the other survivors at Port Elizabeth. | ||
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