Date of birth:

December 25th, 1909 (Bautzen/Saxony, Germany)

Date of death:

February 13th, 1980 (Hamburg-Poppenbüttel/Lower Saxony, Duitsland)

Nationality:

German (1933-1945, Third Reich)

Hans Witt spent his first years in the navy on school ships, including the Gorch Fock and the Schlageter. In October 1940 he entered U-boat training. With U-129 he completed three very successful patrols in the western Atlantic and the Caribbean. Later he spent a year as a member of the BdU 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 (Types XXI and XXIII) in an attempt to turn the tide in the battle of the Atlantic. He sunk 19 ships for a total of 100.773 tons.

Promotions:
10th October 1929: Seekadett
1st January 1931: Fähnrich zur See
1st April 1933: Oberfähnrich zur See
1st October 1933: Leutnant zur See
1st June 1935: Oberleutnant zur See
1st June 1938: Kapitänleutnant
1st February 1943: Korvettenkapitän

Hans-Ludwig Witt commanded
U-161 from 8th July 1941 until 30th November 1941
U-161 from 1st December 1941 until 31st December 1941
U-129 from 14th May 1942 until 8th July 1943
U-3524 from 26th January 1945 until 5th May 1945

He conducted the following war patrols:
- 94 days from 20th May 1942 (Lorient) until 21st August 1942 (Lorient) with U-129
- 101 days from 28th September 1942 (Lorient) until 6th January 1943 (Lorient) with U-129
- 80 days from 11th March 1943 (Lorient) until 29th May 1943 (Lorient) with U-129

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Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Kapitänleutnant

Unit:

Kommandant U-129 / 2.Unterseebootsflottille

Awarded on:

August 23rd, 1942

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Kapitänleutnant

Unit:

Kommandant U-129 / 2.Unterseebootsflottille

Awarded on:

August 23rd, 1942

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Kapitänleutnant

Unit:

Kommandant U-129 / 2.Unterseebootsflottille

Awarded on:

August 23rd, 1942

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Käpitanleutnant (Lieutenant)

Unit:

Kommandant U-129 / 2.Unterseebootsflottille

Awarded on:

December 17th, 1942

The following newspaper excerpt (dated 21.12.1942) describes why Witt received the Knight’s Cross…

“Kapitänleutnant and U-Boat Captain Hans Witt has sunk a total of 18 armed enemy merchant ships (with 64000 GRT) and torpedoed a freighter. This achievement is particularly noteworthy when one considers that most of the sunk ships were of a rather low tonnage, a fact reflected in the high number of 18 ships sunk. Kapitänleutnant Witt is a first-rate Captain, one who has achieved a major share of his successes in the frequently shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.”

By this time Witt had actually sunk 16 ships with 74183 GRT.

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Korvettenkapitän

Unit:

Stab / Befehlshaber der U-Boote (BdU)

Awarded on:

October 7th, 1944

• Photo: Deutsche-marinesoldaten.de
  
• - Fellgiebel W.P., Elite of the Third Reich, The recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939-1945: A Reference, Helion & Company Limited, Solihull, 2003, ISBN 1-874622-46-9
  - Deutsche-marinesoldaten.de
  - Uboat.net
  - das-ritterkreuz.de
  - Völkischer Beobachter (Wiener Ausgabe: Edition 355)