Hans-Ludwig Witt

Korvettenkapitän (Crew 29)


Successes
19 ships sunk, total tonnage 100,773 GRT

Born  25 Dec 1909 Bautzen, Saxony
Died  13 Feb 1980(70)Hamburg / Poppenbüttel, Germany


Korvettenkapitän Hans Witt wearing his Knights Cross.

Ranks

1 Apr 1929 Offiziersanwärter
10 Oct 1929 Seekadett
1 Jan 1931 Fähnrich zur See
1 Apr 1933 Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Oct 1933 Leutnant zur See
1 Jun 1935 Oberleutnant zur See
1 Jul 1938 Kapitänleutnant
1 Feb 1943 Korvettenkapitän

Decorations

23 Aug 1942 Iron Cross 2nd Class
23 Aug 1942 Iron Cross 1st Class
23 Aug 1942 U-boat War Badge 1939
17 Dec 1942 Knights Cross
7 Oct 1944 U-boat Front Clasp

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-161 8 Jul 1941 30 Nov 1941   No war patrols 
U-161 1 Dec 1941 31 Dec 1941   No war patrols 
U-129 14 May 1942 8 Jul 1943   3 patrols (275 days) 
U-3524 26 Jan 1945 5 May 1945   No war patrols 

Hans Witt spent his first years in the navy on school ships, including the Gorch Fock and the Schlageter. In October 1940 he began U-boat training. After taking over command of the type IXC/40 U-129 from Kptlt Clausen, he completed three very successful patrols in the western Atlantic and Caribbean, sinking 19 ships totalling over 100,000 tons. Afterwards he spent a year as a member of the BdU (U-boat Command) staff.

In the last months of the war he was one of the highly decorated U-boat commanders (like Schnee, Cremer, Emmermann and Topp) who took command of the new Elektro U-boats in an attempt to turn the tide in the battle of the Atlantic (in his case the type XXI Elektro U-boat U-3524, scuttled before she finished training).

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1997). Der U-Bootkrieg 1939-1945 (Band 2).

Patrol info for Hans-Ludwig Witt

 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-129 20 May 1942  Lorient  21 Aug 1942  Lorient  Patrol 1,94 days
2. U-129 28 Sep 1942  Lorient  6 Jan 1943  Lorient  Patrol 2,101 days
3. U-129 11 Mar 1943  Lorient  29 May 1943  Lorient  Patrol 3,80 days
3 patrols, 275 days at sea

Ships hit by Hans-Ludwig Witt

Date U-boat Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
10 Jun 1942U-129 L.A. Christensen4,362nw
12 Jun 1942U-129 Hardwicke Grange9,005br
17 Jun 1942U-129 Millinocket3,274am
27 Jun 1942U-129 Tuxpam7,008me
27 Jun 1942U-129 Las Choapas2,005me
1 Jul 1942U-129 Cadmus1,855nw
2 Jul 1942U-129 Gundersen1,841nw
4 Jul 1942U-129 Tuapse6,320sj
12 Jul 1942U-129 Tachirá2,325am
19 Jul 1942U-129 Port Antonio1,266nw
23 Jul 1942U-129 Onondaga2,309am
16 Oct 1942U-129 Trafalgar5,542nw
23 Oct 1942U-129 Reuben Tipton6,829am
30 Oct 1942U-129 West Kebar5,620am
5 Nov 1942U-129 Meton7,027amTAG-18
5 Nov 1942U-129 Astrell7,595nwTAG-18
 
2 Apr 1943U-129 Melbourne Star12,806br
24 Apr 1943U-129 Santa Catalina6,507am
4 May 1943U-129 Panam7,277paNK-538
 100,773

19 ships sunk (100,773 tons).

Legend
We have a picture of this vessel.


About ranks and decorations
Ranks shown in italics are our database inserts based on the rank dates of his crew comrades. The officers of each crew would normally have progressed through the lower ranks at the same rate.

Media links


German U-boat Commanders of World War II

Busch, Rainer and Röll, Hans-Joachim

Listing of all U-boat commanders


As an Amazon Associate uboat.net earns a commission from qualifying purchases.