At the date of 11-05-1940, time: 1800, the aircraft type Fokker D-XVII has been lost. The location of the plane was found at: Den Helder (Balgzandpolder). The unit of crew and plane is: 1/2-II LvR. First flyer rank: SergeantVl., name: H.G. Schamhart. The plane belonged to the Allied forces.

Additinal information by the granddaughter Sasha Schamhart.

“On 11 May, six D.XVIIs were transferred from LvA to the combined fighter squadron at Buiksloot, for use as escort to Fokker C.Vs and Fokker C.Xs reconnaissance/ground attack aircraft.

The six D.XVIIs were:

No. 203 piloted by luitenant E. A. Roosenburg (CO)

No. 2… piloted by luitenant Johannes Cornelis Pieter Stuy No. 2… piloted by luitenant Jan Leendert Plesman (KIA over St. Omer on 1 September 1944)

No. 2… piloted by sergeant Barend Willem van der Heiden

No. 202 piloted by sergeant Herman Gerardus Schamhart

No. 205 piloted by sergeant Benjamin Constant (Ben) Moerkoert

No. 204 and sergeant Pieter Binnenkade remained on De Vlijt (and the aircraft was destroyed during the day by the Germans).

During the transfer, the other aircraft had to fly over the Dutch naval base Den Helder. There, the AA-artillery crews, which had been told that no Dutch aircraft remained, opened fire with the assumption that the aircraft were German. Two aircraft were heavily damaged by the AA-artillery; sergeant Herman Gerardus Schamhart (born on 16 October 1920) destroyed his Fokker (No. 202) in an emergency landing in Balgzandpolder, near Den Helder at 18:20 while 2e luitenant E. A. Roosenburg just made it to De Kooij airbase with his badly damaged no. 203 at the same time. The other four aircraft made it to Buiksloot”.