Hans-Diedrich von Tiesenhausen

Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen
Born	(1913-02-22)22 February 1913 Riga, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire
Died	17 August 2000(2000-08-17) (aged 87) Vancouver, Canada
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1934–1945
Rank	Kapitänleutnant
Unit	U-23
Commands held	U-331
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945) Mediterranean U-boat Campaign (World War II)
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Other work	Interior designer

Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen^[a] (22 February 1913 – 17 August 2000) was a German Kapitänleutnant with the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Life

HMS Barham exploding, 25 November 1941.

Tiesenhausen sailed with the U-23 and U-331. He achieved his greatest success as a U-boat commander by sinking the British battleship HMS Barham on 25 November 1941. On his 3rd patrol U-331 returned to the Egyptian coast. On 17 November she landed seven men of the Lehrregiment Brandenburg east of Ras Gibeisa, on a mission to blow up a railway line near the coast, which failed.

U-331 was sunk on 17 November 1942, north of Algiers, during "Operation Torch". She had been badly damaged after being attacked by a Lockheed Hudson bomber and signalled surrender, but was attacked and sunk by a Fairey Albacore torpedo-bomber from the British aircraft carrier HMS Formidable. Of her crew 32 were killed and 17 survived including Tiesenhausen. He was a prisoner of war in England and Canada until 1947 when he returned to Germany. He worked as a joiner, but in late 1951 he returned to Canada.

Awards

• Dienstauszeichnung 4th Class (8 April 1938)
• The Return of Memel Commemorative Medal (25 June 1940)
• The Return of Sudetenland Commemorative Medal of 1 October 1938 (6 September 1940)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (30 January 1940)
  • 1st Class (7 December 1941)
• Medaglia di bronzo al Valore Militare (November 1941)
• Medaglia d'Argento al Valor Militare (25 March 1942)
• U-boat War Badge (1939) (26 February 1942)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 27 January 1942 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-331
• Mentioned twice in the Wehrmachtbericht on 26 November 1941 and 27 January 1942

Wehrmachtbericht references

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
Wednesday, 26 November 1941	[Wie bereits durch Sondermeldung bekannt gegeben, hat die britische Kriegsmarine in den letzten Tagen wieder schwere Verluste erlitten. Außer der im gestrigen Wehrmachtbericht gemeldeten Beschädigung eines größeren britischen Kriegsschiffes durch Lufttorpedotreffer hat vor Sollum ein deutsches Unterseeboot unter Führung des Kapitänleutnants Freiherr von Tiesenhausen ein britisches Schlachtschiff angegriffen und ihm einen schweren Torpedotreffer beigebracht.] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	As previously announced by special bulletin, the British Navy in the past few days has again suffered heavy losses. In addition to the damage inflicted to a major British warship by aerial torpedo hits, which was announced in yesterday's armed forces report, a German submarine under the command of Captain Lieutenant Freiherr von Tiesenhausen attacked a British battleship near Sollum and imposed a heavy torpedo hit.
Tuesday, 27 January 1942	[Wie im Wehrmachtbericht vom 26. November gemeldet wurde, griff ein deutsches Unterseeboot unter Führung des Kapitänleutnants Freiherr von Tiesenhausen vor Sollum ein britisches Schlachtschiff an und beschädigte es schwer durch Torpedotreffer. Wie inzwischen festgestellt werden konnte, handelt es sich um das Schlachtschiff "BARHAM", das nach drei Torpedotreffern gesunken ist.] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	As announced in the Army report of 26 November attacked a German submarine, under the leadership of Captain Lieutenant Freiherr von Tiesenhausen before Sollum a British battleship and damaged it severely with torpedo hits. As has been determined by now, it is the battleship "BARHAM", which sank after three torpedo hits.

Combat career

Date	U-boat	Name of Ship	Nationality	Tonnage	Fate
10 October 1941	U-331	HMS TLC-18 (A 18)	British	372	damaged
25 November 1941	U-331	HMS Barham	British	31,100	sunk
9 November 1942	U-331	USS Leedstown	American	9,135	sunk

Footnotes

• ^a Regarding personal names: Freiherr is a former title (translated as 'Baron'). In Germany since 1919, it forms part of family names. The feminine forms are Freifrau and Freiin.

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Busch, Rainer & Röll, Hans-Joachim (2003). Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939-1945 - Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 3-8132-0515-0.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Williamson, Gordon & Bujeiro, Ramiro (2005). Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves Recipients 1941-45. Osprey Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84176-642-9.
• Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 1, 1. September 1939 bis 31. Dezember 1941 (in German). München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 1985. ISBN 3-423-05944-3.
• Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 2, 1. Januar 1942 bis 31. Dezember 1943 (in German). München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 1985. ISBN 3-423-05944-3.

External links

• uboat.net