Hans Heidtmann | |
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Born |
Lübeck |
8 August 1914
Died | 5 April 1976 Hamburg |
(aged 61)
Allegiance |
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Service/branch |
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Years of service | 1934–45 1958–72 |
Rank |
Kapitänleutnant (Kriegsmarine) Kapitän zur See (Bundesmarine) |
Unit |
SSS Gorch Fock cruiser Emden Panzerschiff Deutschland U-14 |
Commands held |
U-14 U-2 U-559 |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Hans Heidtmann (8 August 1914 – 5 April 1976) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany
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.