Freiherr Hans-Diedrich von Tiesenhausen
Kapitänleutnant (Crew 34)
| Successes 1 auxiliary warship sunk for a total of 9,135 GRT 1 warship sunk for a total of 31,100 tons 1 warship damaged for a total of 372 tons |
| Born | 22 Feb 1913 | Riga, Latvia | |
| Died | 17 Aug 2000 | (87) | Vancouver, Canada |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
| U-331 | 31 Mar 1941 | 17 Nov 1942 | 10 patrols (242 days) |
Personal information
Freiherr von Tiesenhausen began his U-boat career in December 1939 on U-23, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer. Together they completed three successful patrols and sank five ships for a total of 27,000 tons, as well as one destroyer.
After his fourth patrol on U-23, under Commander Beduhn, he transferred to the new U-93 (Kapitänleutnant Klaus Korth).
In April 1941 Freiherr von Tiesenhausen took command of U-331. He led the boat on nine patrols, and on 25 November, 1941 he scored his greatest success by sinking the British battleship HMS Barham.
He spent time as a prisoner, first in England and then for three years in Canada. In 1947 he returned to Germany and worked as a joiner. During the autumn of 1951 he left Germany and went back to Canada. He lived in the Vancouver area for the rest of his life, working as an interior designer, and achieving some note as a nature photographer.
Patrol info for Hans-Diedrich von Tiesenhausen
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
| 1. | U-331 | 2 Jul 1941 | Kiel | 19 Aug 1941 | Lorient | Patrol 1, | 49 days | |
| 2. | U-331 | 24 Sep 1941 | Lorient | 11 Oct 1941 | Salamis | Patrol 2, | 18 days | |
| 3. | U-331 | 12 Nov 1941 | Salamis | 3 Dec 1941 | Salamis | Patrol 3, | 22 days | |
| 4. | U-331 | 14 Jan 1942 | Salamis | 28 Feb 1942 | La Spezia | Patrol 4, | 46 days | |
| 5. | U-331 | 4 Apr 1942 | La Spezia | 19 Apr 1942 | Salamis | Patrol 5, | 16 days | |
| 6. | U-331 | 9 May 1942 | Salamis | 21 May 1942 | Messina | Patrol 6, | 13 days | |
| 7. | U-331 | 25 May 1942 | Messina | 15 Jun 1942 | La Spezia | Patrol 7, | 22 days | |
| 8. | U-331 | 5 Aug 1942 | La Spezia | 10 Aug 1942 | La Spezia | Patrol 8, | 6 days | |
| 9. | U-331 | 12 Aug 1942 | La Spezia | 19 Sep 1942 | La Spezia | Patrol 9, | 39 days | |
| 10. | U-331 | 7 Nov 1942 | La Spezia | 17 Nov 1942 | Sunk | Patrol 10, | 11 days | |
| 10 patrols, 242 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Hans-Diedrich von Tiesenhausen
| Date | U-boat | Commander | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Oct 1941 | U-331 | Hans-Diedrich von Tiesenhausen | HMS TLC-18 (A 18) (d.) | 372 |  | br | ||
| 25 Nov 1941 | U-331 | Hans-Diedrich von Tiesenhausen |  | HMS Barham (04) | 31,100 | | br | |
| 9 Nov 1942 | U-331 | Hans-Diedrich von Tiesenhausen | | USS Leedstown (AP 73) | 9,135 |  | am | Torch |
| 40,607 | ||||||||
2 ships sunk (40,235 tons) and 1 ship damaged (372 tons). Legend | ||||||||
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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.