Hans Heidtmann

Hans Heidtmann (8 August 1914 in Lübeck – 5 April 1976 in Hamburg) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

U-559 under the command of Heidtmann came under attack by several British warships and an aircraft on 30 October 1942. Fatally damaged and forced to the surface, the U-boat was abandoned after scuttling herself in the Mediterranean. A British boarding party, consisting of Lieutenant Francis Anthony Blair Fasson, Able Seaman Colin Grazier, and Canteen Assistant Tommy Brown, from destroyer HMS Petard recovered the cryptographic materials, but the U-boat sank before the Enigma cipher machine could be brought out. Eight German crewmen and two British seamen were lost, and 37 German survivors were taken prisoner of war.

Summary of career

Ships attacked

As a U-boat commander of U-559 Hans Heidtmann is credited with the sinking of four ships for a total of 11,811 gross register tons (GRT), further damaging two ships of 6,117 GRT that they had to be declared a total loss and sinkging one warship, HMAS Parramatta, of 1,060 metric tons (1,040 long tons; 1,170 short tons).

Date	Ship	Nationality	Tonnage	Fate
19 August 1941	Alva	United Kingdom	1,584	Sunk
27 November 1941	HMAS Parramatta	Royal Australian Navy	1,060	Sunk
23 December 1941	SS Shuntien	United Kingdom	3,059	Sunk
26 December 1941	Warszawa	Poland	2,487	Sunk
10 June 1942	Athene	Norway	4,681	Sunk
10 June 1942	Brambleleaf	United Kingdom	5,917	Damaged for total loss
12 October 1942	Bringhi	Egypt	200	Damaged for total loss

Awards

• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (8 April 1938)
• Spanish Cross in Bronze with Swords (6 June 1939)
• Sudetenland Medal (16 September 1939)
• U-boat War Badge (1939) (26 November 1939)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (27 November 1939)
  • 1st Class (23 September 1941)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 12 April 1943 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-559
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 12 June 1942

Wehrmachtbericht reference

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
Friday, 12 June 1942	Das Unterseeboot des Kapitänleutnants Heidtmann hat sich bei der Bekämpfung des Geleitzuges im östlichen Mittelmeer besonders ausgezeichnet.	The submarine of Captain Lieutenant Heidtmann has particularly excelled in the fight against the convoy in the eastern Mediterranean.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by Fregattenkapitän Gerd Schreiber	Commander of the Marinestützpunktkommando Wilhelmshaven April 1964 – September 1965	Succeeded by Kapitän zur See Karl-Heinz Wünn