CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Kapit盲nleutnant Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen - German U-boat Commanders of WWII - The Men of the Kriegsmarine - uboat.net</title> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/media/layout/2014_06/main2017-10.css" type="text/css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/media/layout/2014_06/print.css" type="text/css" media="print" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /> <meta name="description" content="The U-boat War in World War Two (Kriegsmarine, 1939-1945) and World War One (Kaiserliche Marine, 1914-1918) and the Allied efforts to counter the threat. Over 40.000 pages on the officers, the boats, technology and the Allied efforts to counter the U-boat threat." /> <meta name="keywords" content="U-boat, submarine, boats, technology, XXI, VIIC, XIC, II, XIV, XXIII, Uboote, Unterseeboote, aircraft, escorts, Kriegsmarine, German navy, U-boote, destroyers, corvettes, frigates, battleships, aircraft carriers, trawlers." /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico" /> </head> <body>  <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-1LBQ8B7HLP"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-1LBQ8B7HLP'); </script> <div id="container">  <div id="banner">  <h1 class="ph">uboat.net</h1>    <div id="navcontainer"> <ul id="navlist"> <li><a href="/" title="Front page">Home</a></li> <li><a href="/boats.htm" title="The Boats">The U-boats</a></li> <li class="inpath"><a href="/men/" title="The Men">The Men</a></li> <li><a href="/allies/" title="Allied efforts to fight the U-boats">The Allies</a></li> <li><a href="/maps/" title="Maps">Maps</a></li> <li><a href="/forums/" title="Join our Forums">Forums</a></li> <li><a href="/articles/" title="Articles">Articles</a></li> <li><a href="/gallery/" title="Galleries">Gallery</a></li> <li><a href="/books/" title="Over 2200 books">Books</a></li> <li><a href="/special/movies/" title="Naval Warfare Movies">Movies</a></li> <li><a href="/wwi/" title="World War One">WWI</a></li> </ul> </div>  <span id="breadcrumbs"> <a href="/">Front page</a> - <a href="/men/">The Men</a> </span> </div>  <div id="sidebar-a"> <div id="submenu"> <h4><a href="/men/">Officers and Men</a></h4> <ul id="submenulist"> <li><a href="/men/" title="Commander Crews">The Men</a> <li><a href="/men/commanders/" title="Commander Crews">All Commanders</a> <ul> <li><a href="/men/commanders/crews.html" title="Commander Crews">Commander Crews</a></li> <li><a href="/men/aces/" title="Most Successful">Most Successful</a></li> <li><a href="/men/commanders/youngest-oldest.html" title="Youngest and oldest commanders on patrol">Youngest / oldest</a></li> <li><a href="/men/post_war.html" title="Commander deaths since the war">Deaths since WWII</a></li> <li><a href="/men/commanders/updates.html">Recent updates</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="/men/decorations/" title="Decorations">Decorations</a></li> <li><a href="/men/ranks/" title="Kriegsmarine Ranks">Ranks</a></li> <li><a href="/men/training/" title="The Boats">Training</a></li> <li><a href="/men/uniforms/" title="Kriegsmarine U-boat Uniforms">Uniforms</a></li> <li><a href="/men/crew/" title="The U-boat Crew">The U-boat Crew</a></li> <li><a href="/men/listing.htm" title="The Boats">Personnel files</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="item_box center"> <h4>Events on this day</h4> <p><a href="/today.html">What happened on<br>10 April?</a></p> </div> <div class="item_box center"> <h4>Commander file</h4><p class="caption"><a href="/men/commanders/1391.html"><img src="/media/men/commanders/zaubitzer_joachim.jpg" class="width80" alt="" /><br>Joachim Zaubitzer</a><br>(<a href="/boats/u974.htm">U-974</a>)</p><p>- <a href="/men/commanders/">More officers</a></p> </div> <div class="item_box center"> <h4>U-boat of the day</h4><a href="/boats/u135.htm">U-135</a> - 7 patrols<br>3 ships sunk (21,302 tons) </div> <div class="item_box"> <h4>U-boat Finder</h4> <form action="/boats/finder.php" method="post"> <input size="8" name="find_boat" class="search-field" />   <input type="submit" value="Search" class="input" /> </form> </div><p><br>Follow us on Twitter<br><a href="http://twitter.com/uboatnet" class="noborder"><img src="/media/layout/images/twitter_newbird_18.gif" alt="Twitter" /></a> <a href="http://twitter.com/uboatnet">@uboatnet</a></p> <br> </div>  <div id="content">  <div id="ga_contentTop728" align="center"> <script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>  <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:728px;height:90px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1101670507446460" data-ad-slot="9674187468"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> </div> <div class="header-box" align="center"> <h2><a href="/men/commanders/">The Men - U-boat Commanders</a></h2> </div> <div> <div align="center"> <h1> Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen</h1> <h3>Kapit盲nleutnant (<a href="/men/commanders/crews.html?crew=34">Crew 34</a>)</h3> <br><table class="width450"><tr><td align="left"><strong>Successes</strong><br>1 auxiliary warship sunk, total tonnage 9,135 GRT<br>1 warship sunk, total tonnage 31,100 tons<br>1 warship damaged, total tonnage 372 tons</td></tr></table> </div>  <br><table class="width450" align="center"> <tr> <td class="width40 right">Born  </td><td class="width120 right">22 Feb 1913</td><td class="width15"> </td><td class="width200">Riga, Latvia</td></tr> <tr><td class="width40 right">Died  </td><td class="width120 right">17 Aug 2000</td><td class="width15">(87)</td><td>Vancouver, Canada</td></tr> </table>  <br><table class="width650" align="center"> <tr> <td class="width250 center"> <p class="caption left"><img src="/media/men/commanders/tiesenhausen.jpg" alt="" /><br>Kapit盲nleutnant Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen wearing his Knights Cross.</p></td> <td class="width400">  <h3><a href="/men/ranks/">Ranks</a></h3> <table><tr><td class="width90 right">8 Apr 1934</td><td class="width5"> </td><td><em>Offiziersanw盲rter</em></td></tr><tr><td class="width90 right">26 Sep 1934</td><td class="width5"> </td><td>Seekadett</td></tr><tr><td class="width90 right">1 Jul 1935</td><td class="width5"> </td><td>F盲hnrich zur See</td></tr><tr><td class="width90 right">1 Jan 1937</td><td class="width5"> </td><td>Oberf盲hnrich zur See</td></tr><tr><td class="width90 right">1 Apr 1937</td><td class="width5"> </td><td>Leutnant zur See</td></tr><tr><td class="width90 right">1 Apr 1939</td><td class="width5"> </td><td>Oberleutnant zur See</td></tr><tr><td class="width90 right">1 Jan 1942</td><td class="width5"> </td><td>Kapit盲nleutnant</td></tr></table>  <h3><a href="/men/decorations/">Decorations</a></h3><table><tr><td class="width90 right">30 Jan 1940</td><td class="width5"> </td><td><a href="/men/decorations/ek2.htm">Iron Cross 2nd Class</a></td></tr><tr><td class="width90 right">26 Feb 1940</td><td class="width5"> </td><td><a href="/men/decorations/badge.htm">U-boat War Badge 1939</a></td></tr><tr><td class="width90 right">7 Dec 1941</td><td class="width5"> </td><td><a href="/men/decorations/ek.htm">Iron Cross 1st Class</a></td></tr><tr><td class="width90 right">27 Jan 1942</td><td class="width5"> </td><td><a href="/men/decorations/ritter_winners.htm">Knights Cross</a></td></tr></table> </td></tr></table>   <div align="center"> <h3>U-boat Commands</h3> </div> <div align="center"> <table class="table_subtle"> <thead> <tr> <th class="width60">U-boat</th><th class="seperator width100 center">From</th><th class="seperator width120 center">To</th><th class="seperator"></th> </tr> </thead><tr><td><a href="/boats/u331.htm">U-331</a> </td><td class="seperator right">31 Mar 1941 </td><td class="seperator right">17 Nov 1942 </td><td class="seperator">  10 patrols (242 days) </td></tr></table></div><br><p>Freiherr von Tiesenhausen began his U-boat career in December 1939 on <a href="/boats/u23.htm">U-23</a>, commanded by Kapit盲nleutnant <a href="/men/kretschmer.htm">Otto <a href="/men/kretschmer.htm">Kretschmer</a></a>. Together they completed three successful patrols and sank five ships with a total of 27,000 tons, as well as one destroyer.</p> <p>After his fourth patrol on <a href="/boats/u23.htm">U-23</a>, under Commander Beduhn, he transferred to the new <a href="/boats/u93.htm">U-93</a> (Kapit盲nleutnant <a href="/men/korth.htm">Klaus Korth</a>).</p> <p>In April 1941 Freiherr von Tiesenhausen took command of <a href="/boats/u331.htm">U-331</a>. He led the boat on nine patrols, and on 25 November, 1941 he scored his greatest success by sinking the British battleship <a href="/gallery/">HMS Barham</a>.</p> <p>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 distinction as a nature photographer.</p> <h3>Sources</h3> <p> Busch, R. and R枚ll, H-J. (1999). <a href="/books/item/523">German U-boat commanders of World War II</a>. <br /> Busch, R. and R枚ll, H-J. (1997). <a href="/books/item/590">Der U-Bootkrieg 1939-1945 (Band 2)</a>.<br /> Rohwer, J. (1998). <a href="/books/item/359">Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two</a>. </p> <div align="center"><h3>Patrol info for Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen</h3></div> <div align="center"> <table class="table_subtle"> <tr><th> </th><th class="width60">U-boat </th><th colspan="2" align="center" class="seperator">Departure</th> <th colspan="2" align="center" class="seperator">Arrival</th><th class="seperator"> </th><th> </th><th class="width10"></th> </tr> <tr> <td class="width20 right">1.</td> <td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u331.htm">U-331</a></td> <td class="seperator right">2 Jul 1941  </td><td>Kiel </td> <td class="seperator right">19 Aug 1941  </td><td>Lorient </td> <td class="seperator">Patrol 1,</td><td class="right">49 days</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="width20 right">2.</td> <td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u331.htm">U-331</a></td> <td class="seperator right">24 Sep 1941  </td><td>Lorient </td> <td class="seperator right">11 Oct 1941  </td><td>Salamis </td> <td class="seperator">Patrol 2,</td><td class="right">18 days</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="width20 right">3.</td> <td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u331.htm">U-331</a></td> <td class="seperator right">12 Nov 1941  </td><td>Salamis </td> <td class="seperator right">3 Dec 1941  </td><td>Salamis </td> <td class="seperator">Patrol 3,</td><td class="right">22 days</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="width20 right">4.</td> <td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u331.htm">U-331</a></td> <td class="seperator right">14 Jan 1942  </td><td>Salamis </td> <td class="seperator right">28 Feb 1942  </td><td>La Spezia </td> <td class="seperator">Patrol 4,</td><td class="right">46 days</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="width20 right">5.</td> <td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u331.htm">U-331</a></td> <td class="seperator right">4 Apr 1942  </td><td>La Spezia </td> <td class="seperator right">19 Apr 1942  </td><td>Salamis </td> <td class="seperator">Patrol 5,</td><td class="right">16 days</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="width20 right">6.</td> <td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u331.htm">U-331</a></td> <td class="seperator right">9 May 1942  </td><td>Salamis </td> <td class="seperator right">21 May 1942  </td><td>Messina </td> <td class="seperator">Patrol 6,</td><td class="right">13 days</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="width20 right">7.</td> <td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u331.htm">U-331</a></td> <td class="seperator right">25 May 1942  </td><td>Messina </td> <td class="seperator right">15 Jun 1942  </td><td>La Spezia </td> <td class="seperator">Patrol 7,</td><td class="right">22 days</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="width20 right">8.</td> <td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u331.htm">U-331</a></td> <td class="seperator right">5 Aug 1942  </td><td>La Spezia </td> <td class="seperator right">10 Aug 1942  </td><td>La Spezia </td> <td class="seperator">Patrol 8,</td><td class="right">6 days</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="width20 right">9.</td> <td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u331.htm">U-331</a></td> <td class="seperator right">12 Aug 1942  </td><td>La Spezia </td> <td class="seperator right">19 Sep 1942  </td><td>La Spezia </td> <td class="seperator">Patrol 9,</td><td class="right">39 days</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="width20 right">10.</td> <td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u331.htm">U-331</a></td> <td class="seperator right">7 Nov 1942  </td><td>La Spezia </td> <td class="seperator right">17 Nov 1942  </td><td><strong>Sunk</strong> </td> <td class="seperator">Patrol 10,</td><td class="right">11 days</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="8" class="right">10 patrols, 242 days at sea</td><td></td> </tr> </table> </div><div align="center"><h3>Ships hit by Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen</h3></div> <div align="center"> <table id="table2" class="table_subtle"> <thead> <tr><th class="width90 right">Date</th> <th class="seperator">U-boat</th> <th class="seperator width160">Commander</th> <th class="seperator"></th><th class="width160">Name of ship</th> <th class="seperator width50 right">Tons</th> <th align="center" colspan="2" class="seperator">Nat.</th> <th class="seperator">Convoy</th></tr> </thead><tbody> <tr><td class="right">10 Oct 1941</td><td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u331.htm">U-331</a></td><td class="seperator"><a href="/men/tiesenhausen.htm">Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen</a></td><td class="seperator"><span class="spacer11"> </span></td><td><a href="/allies/merchants/ship/3550.html">HMS TLC-18 (A 18)</a> (d.)</td><td class="seperator right">372</td><td align="center" class="seperator"><img src="/media/images/flags/small/flag_united_kingdom_s.png" class="width18" height="12" alt=""></td><td class="seperator">br</td><td class="seperator"><a href="/ops/convoys/convoys.php?convoy="></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="right">25 Nov 1941</td><td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u331.htm">U-331</a></td><td class="seperator"><a href="/men/tiesenhausen.htm">Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen</a></td><td class="seperator"><img src="/media/layout/images/icon_picture.gif" class="width11" height="8" alt=""> </td><td><a href="/allies/merchants/ship/1206.html">HMS Barham (04)</a></td><td class="seperator right">31,100</td><td align="center" class="seperator"><img src="/media/images/flags/small/flag_united_kingdom_s.png" class="width18" height="12" alt=""></td><td class="seperator">br</td><td class="seperator"><a href="/ops/convoys/convoys.php?convoy="></a></td></tr> <tr><td colspan="9"> </td></tr> <tr><td class="right">9 Nov 1942</td><td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u331.htm">U-331</a></td><td class="seperator"><a href="/men/tiesenhausen.htm">Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen</a></td><td class="seperator"><img src="/media/layout/images/icon_picture.gif" class="width11" height="8" alt=""> </td><td><a href="/allies/merchants/ship/2398.html">USS Leedstown (AP 73)</a></td><td class="seperator right">9,135</td><td align="center" class="seperator"><img src="/media/images/flags/small/flag_united_states_s.png" class="width18" height="12" alt=""></td><td class="seperator">am</td><td class="seperator"><a href="/ops/convoys/convoys.php?convoy=Torch">Torch</a></td></tr> <tr><td colspan="5"> </td><td class="right">40,607</td><td colspan="3"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="9"><p>2 ships sunk (40,235 tons) and 1 ship damaged (372 tons).</p><p><strong>Legend</strong><br><img src="/media/layout/images/icon_picture.gif" class="width11" height="8" alt=""> We have a picture of this vessel.<br>(d.) means the ship was damaged.</p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p><br><strong>About ranks and decorations</strong> <br>Ranks shown in <em>italics</em> are our database inserts based on the rank dates of his crew comrades. The officers of each <a href="/men/crew/">crew</a> would normally have progressed through the lower ranks at the same rate. <div align="center"> <h3>Media links</h3> <table> <tr> <td class="width140"><p><a href="/books/item/2388"><img src="/media/books/covers/english/184832118X.jpg" alt="" /> <br>U-Boat Attack Logs</a><br>Daniel Morgan and Bruce Taylor</p><div class="left"><br> <img src="/media/images/flags/small/flag-uk_s.gif" alt="" /> <a href="/about/scripts/amazon_co_uk.php?book=184832118X&path=/men/tiesenhausen.htm">amazon.co.uk</a> <br>(拢 38.25)</div></td> <td class="width140"><p><a href="/books/item/523"><img src="/media/books/covers/english/1557501866.jpg" alt="" /> <br>German U-boat Commanders of World War II</a><br>Busch, Rainer and R枚ll, Hans-Joachim</p></td> <td class="width140"><p><a href="/books/item/473"><img src="/media/books/covers/english/naval_officers_under_hitler.jpg" alt="" /> <br>Naval Officers Under Hitler</a><br>Rust, Eric C.</p></td></tr> </table> </div> <div align="center"> <h3><a href="/men/commanders/">Listing of all U-boat commanders</a></h3> </div> </div>   <p class='center'><br/>As an Amazon Associate uboat.net earns a commission from qualifying purchases.</p> <div class="adSeperator"></div> <div id="ga_contentFooter728" align="center"> <script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:728px;height:90px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1101670507446460" data-ad-slot="7580936821"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> </div><br> </div>  <div id="footer"> <div id="footer_navcontainer"> <ul id="footer_navlist"> <li><a href="/" title="Front page">Front page</a></li> <li><a href="/about/" title="About uboat.net">About</a></li> <li><a href="/about/contact.htm" title="Contact us">Contact us</a></li> <li><a href="/special/faq.htm" title="Frequently Asked Questions">FAQ</a></li> <li><a href="/glossary.htm" title="Glossary pages">Glossary</a></li> <li><a href="/new.htm" title="What's new at uboat.net">What's new</a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="footer_copyright">  © 1995 - 2025 Guðmundur Helgason </div> </div>  </div>  </body></html>