Richard Allen Cooper
Rank: Second Mate, United States Merchant Marine
Ship: SS Raphael Semmes
Entered service from: New Jersey
Died:
Biography
Richard Allen Cooper
Richard Allen Cooper was born in 1913 in Florida. He was a 1931 graduate of Collingswood High School and lived at 42 Washington Avenue in Collingswood, New Jersey. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. G.C. Cooper, lived for many years at Maple and Washington avenues in Collingswood before moving to Wheaton, Illinois.
After graduating from Collingswood High, Cooper joined the merchant marine. He was the only son in the family and had five sisters. He is survived by his widow, who lived in Boston, and a nine-months-old son, Richard A. Jr., whom he saw only once.
The SS Raphael Semmes sailed for India from an Atlantic port ten days before war was declared. The ship completed the first leg of her journey to India and returned to within 650 miles of her destination without incident until a German submarine was encountered.
On June 28, 1942, the SS Raphael Semmes was torpedoed by the German submarine U-332, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Johannes Liebe, approximately 650 miles off the Atlantic coast, at 29°30′N, 64°30′W. Of the crew of 37 men, 19 lost their lives. Cooper had just been relieved of duty and had gone below when a torpedo struck. This was followed by a second torpedo. He was trapped in wreckage below deck.
So quickly did the ship sink that the crew had no chance to launch lifeboats. Several rafts that were on deck washed overboard and the 18 survivors clambered on two of them. For 19 days they drifted in the ocean, living on raw potatoes, onions, and crackers, until rescued by another vessel.
U-332 was itself sunk on April 29, 1943, in the Bay of Biscay, by a RAF 224 Squadron aircraft.
SS Raphael Semmes
Rescue Photos
SS Raphael Semmes — rescue of survivors, 1942
Richard A. Cooper Victim of Torpedo
Camden Courier-Post —
Collingswood High School Graduate Among 19 Lost on Merchant Vessel
A former Collingswood man, Richard A. Cooper, has been reported lost at sea.
The Navy Department announced today that a merchant vessel of which Cooper was second mate was torpedoed on June 28, about 650 miles off the Atlantic coast. Of the crew of 37 men 19 lost their lives when the vessel was torpedoed.
Cooper was graduated from Collingswood High school in 1931. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. G.C. Cooper, lived for many years at Maple and Washington avenues, Collingswood, and moved to Wheaton, Ill., three years ago.
Cooper is survived also by his widow, who lives in Boston, and a nine-months-old son, Richard A. Jr., whom he saw only once.
Following graduation from Collingswood High, Cooper joined the merchant marine. His vessel sailed for India from an Atlantic port 10 days before war was declared. The ship completed the first leg of her journey to India and returned to within 650 miles without incident until the submarine was encountered.
In a letter from Cooper’s mother to Mr. and Mrs. William Dow, 610 Haddon avenue, Collingswood, details of Cooper’s death were revealed.
From a shipmate Mrs. Cooper learned that her son had just been relieved of duty and had gone below when a torpedo struck the vessel. This was followed by a second torpedo. Cooper was trapped in wreckage below deck.
So quickly did the ship sink that the crew had no chance to launch lifeboats. Several rafts that were on deck washed overboard and the 18 survivors clambered on two of them.
For 19 days they drifted in the ocean living on raw potatoes, onions and crackers, until rescued by another vessel.
Cooper was the only son and had five sisters. One of the sisters, learning the date when her brother’s ship would arrive at an Atlantic port, went there and waited nearly a week for the ship to come in. The day she arrived at the port was the day the torpedo ripped into the ship killing her brother.
Richard Allen Cooper — additional news clipping
U-332 Commander — Kapitänleutnant Johannes Liebe
Kapitänleutnant Johannes Liebe, commander of U-332, which torpedoed the SS Raphael Semmes on June 28, 1942. U-332 was sunk on April 29, 1943 in the Bay of Biscay by a Royal Air Force aircraft.