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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, 1913Riga, Latvia
Died  17 Aug, 2000Vancouver, Canada


Kapitänleutnant Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen wearing his Knights Cross.

Ranks

26 Sep, 1934Seekadett
1 Jul, 1935Fähnrich zur See
1 Jan, 1937Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Apr, 1937Leutnant zur See
1 Apr, 1939Oberleutnant zur See
1 Jan, 1942Kapitänleutnant

Decorations

30 Jan, 1940Iron Cross 2nd Class
26 Feb, 1940U-boat War Badge 1939
7 Dec, 1941Iron Cross 1st Class
27 Jan, 1942Knights Cross

U-boat Commands

U-33131 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


 U-boatDeparture Arrival  
1. U-331 2 Jul, 1941  Kiel19 Aug, 1941  LorientPatrol49 days
2. U-331 24 Sep, 1941  Lorient11 Oct, 1941  SalamisPatrol18 days
3. U-331 12 Nov, 1941  Salamis3 Dec, 1941  SalamisPatrol22 days
4. U-331 14 Jan, 1942  Salamis28 Feb, 1942  La SpeziaPatrol46 days
5. U-331 4 Apr, 1942  La Spezia19 Apr, 1942  SalamisPatrol16 days
6. U-331 9 May, 1942  Salamis21 May, 1942  MessinaPatrol13 days
7. U-331 25 May, 1942  Messina15 Jun, 1942  La SpeziaPatrol22 days
8. U-331 5 Aug, 1942  La Spezia10 Aug, 1942  La SpeziaPatrol6 days
9. U-331 12 Aug, 1942  La Spezia19 Sep, 1942  La SpeziaPatrol39 days
10. U-331 7 Nov, 1942  La Spezia17 Nov, 1942  SunkPatrol11 days

Ships hit by Freiherr Hans-Diedrich von Tiesenhausen


DateBoatName of shipTonsNat.ConvoyFate *
10 Oct, 1941 U-331HMS TLC-18 (A 18)372 br damaged
25 Nov, 1941 U-331HMS Barham (04)31.100 br 
 
9 Nov, 1942 U-331USS Leedstown (AP 73)9.135 am Torch 
 40.607

* Unless otherwise noted the ships listed here were sunk.



Naval Officers Under Hitler

Rust, Eric C.

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Books dealing with this subject include:

A Midshipman's War, Wade, Frank, 1994
Naval Officers Under Hitler, Rust, Eric C., 1991


Decorations and ranks information is in many cases not complete. If you can help on any of those missing that would be great.

Listing of all U-boat commanders