Tiesenhausen, Freiherr von, Hans-Diedrich
- Date of birth:
- February 22nd, 1913 (Riga, Latvia)
- Date of death:
- August 17th, 2000 (Vancouver, Canada)
- Nationality:
- German
Biography
Hans-Diederich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen joined the Kriegsmarine as a cadet in 1934. As a Leutnant zur See, von Tiesenhausen served on the light cruiser Nürnberg, taking part in security patrols in Spanish waters in 1937, as well as spells with the 5th Marine Artillery Battalion in Pillau. He was promoted to Oberleutnant zur See on 1 April 1939, and reported for a training course at the Unterseebootschule in October that year. His career as a U-boat officer began in December 1939, served as Second Watch Officer 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 was posted as First Watch Officer to the new U-93 commanded by Kapitänleutnant Klaus Korth. Thereafter, he was given his own Type VIIC boat, U-331, on March 31, 1941.
Tiesenhausen’s first war patrol began in July 1941. Although he made approaches to Allied shipping off the Azores he was detected by the convoy escort and driven off. After making the difficult passage through the Straits of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean to operate from the Italian base of La Spezia. His third patrol, in November 1941, saw Tiesenhausen tasked with landing a group of commandos of the Brandenburg Division behind British lines near Ras el Gibeisa. Once this was done he was free to search for enemy shipping. On November 25 the sailer manning the hydrophones heard a group of ships off the coast of Bardia (Libya). He spotted about midday three Royal Navy battleships with a heavy destroyer escort; he was able to identify HMS Queen Elizabeth, Barham and Valiant. U-331 closed to within 450 meters of the Royal Navy battleship HMS Barham and fired a spred of four torpedoes. Three of the torpedoes struck the Barham. The 31,000-ton battleship sank; and 862 British seamen lost their lives. There were 449 survivors. For this success Tiesenhausen was decorated with the Knight’s Cross on January 27, 1942.
U-331 remained in the Mediterranean, but without achieving anything spectacular; her next six patrols, operating out of La Spezia and Salamis, brought no successes.
On November 9, 1942 von Tiesenhausen attacked a convoy supporting the Allied ‘Torch’ landings in North Africa, and sank the 9,135-ton USS Leedstown off Algiers.
On November 17, 1942, in the waters north of Algiers, U-331 was attacked by a Lockheed "Hudson" bomber and left it unable to submerge. A torpedo from a Swordfish aircraft of the carrier HMS Formidable ended the affair. U-331 was sent to the bottom, taking 32 crew wit her; Kapitänleut Von Tiesenhausen and fifteen members of his crew were rescued and made prisoners of war. He spent time as a prisoner, first in England and then transferred to a POW camp in Canada for three years. He was released in 1947 and returned to Germany, where he lived for four years before returning to settle in Canada permanently. He lived in a small town on the west coast of Canada for the rest of his life, working as an interior designer, and achieving some note as a nature photographer. He died in Vancouver on August 17, 2000.
Do you have more information about this person? Inform us!
Dienstauszeichnung der Wehrmacht 4.Klasse, 4 Jahre
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Awarded on:
- April 8th, 1938
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Oberleutnant zur See
- Unit:
- U-23, 1.Unterseebootsflottille, Kriegsmarine
- Awarded on:
- January 30th, 1940
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Oberleutnant zur See
- Unit:
- U-23, 1.Unterseebootsflottille, Kriegsmarine
- Awarded on:
- February 26th, 1940
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Awarded on:
- June 25th, 1940
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Awarded on:
- September 6th, 1940
Medaglia de bronzo al Valore
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Oberleutnant zur See
- Unit:
- U-331, 23.Unterseebootsflottille, Kriegsmarine
- Awarded on:
- November 1941
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Awarded on:
- November 26th, 1941
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Oberleutnant zur See
- Unit:
- U-331, 23.Unterseebootsflottille, Kriegsmarine
- Awarded on:
- December 7th, 1941
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Käpitanleutnant (Lieutenant)
- Unit:
- U-331, 23.Unterseebootsflottille, Kriegsmarine
- Awarded on:
- January 27th, 1942
The actual sinking was not reported, since Tiesenhausen had not witnessed Barham's destruction, only heard the detonation of the torpedo. He could not be sure whether she had sunk, or had merely been damaged and left the scene by the time he had surfaced. It was not until several weeks later, once the British had admitted her loss, that Tiesenhausen could finally confirm that his victim was indeed the Barham.
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Awarded on:
- January 27th, 1942
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Käpitanleutnant (Lieutenant)
- Unit:
- U-331, 23.Unterseebootsflottille, Kriegsmarine
- Awarded on:
- March 25th, 1942
Sources
- Photo: Wilco Vermeer
- - Die Ordensträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht (CD), VMD-Verlag GmbH, Osnabrück, 2002
- 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
- Knight’s Cross Holders of the U-boat Service by Franz Kurowski
- Knight’s Cross and Oak-Leaves Recipients 1941-45 by Gordon Williamson
- deutsche-marinesoldaten.de
- uboat.net
- sharkhunters.com
Looking for reliable information or news facts about WW2? Do you want to create your own battlefield tour to sights of wars from the past? Or are you interested in war medals and their recipients? TracesOfWar.com tells you more!
More information
© STIWOT, 1999-2024. All rights reserved. Privacy statement, cookies, disclaimer and copyright