The Men - The Commander listing

Heinz Hirsacker

Kapitänleutnant (Crew 34)

Successes
3 ships sunk for a total of 14.813 GRT
1 ship damaged for a total of 6.207 GRT

Born	14 Aug, 1914	Lübeck
Died	24 Apr, 1943

Oblt. Heinz Hirsacker during commissioning of U-572 at Hamburg.

U-boat Commands

U-572

29 May, 1941

18 Dec, 1942

6 patrols (267 days)

Personal information

A very controversial story, one that still divides the survivors to some extent inasmuch as they are familiar with the details, is the case of Heinz Hirsacker, who committed suicide shortly after a German court-martial found him guilty of cowardice and sentenced him to die by a firing squad.

Hirsacker’s background did not suggest this was in the cards as his officer training never ranked him lower than 15 out of almost 200 candidates of Crew 34 between 35-42. He impressed his superiors and was chosen in 1937 for U-boat training, being among the first to have that assignment. He was not liked by everyone but seemed very professional.

He was a watch officer (IIWO) on U-36 (Klaus Ewerth) during August to December 1937. Career details from Jan 1938 to Dec 1939 are not recorded. He was first watch officer (IWO) on U-64 (Kptlt. Georg-Wilhelm Schulz) from Dec 1939 until its loss in April 1940, then from June to August as IWO on the famous U-124, again under Schulz. Details missing until he takes command of his U-572 on 29. May, 1941.

Something seems to have happened to him before he was given his first command, for he seemed to suffer from nervous problems and this syndrome even caused him to suffer from a phobia of serving on U-boats. He apparently tried several times to get the Navy to re-assign him to other duties but this was not successful (trained U-boat commanders were not a dime-a-dozen).

Hirsacker could not admit his fears officially without destroying his career and thus he tried more discreet ways of getting out of U-boats. He also seems to have decided to keep himself and his boat out of harms way and his first 2 patrols were unsuccessful and full of strange incidents (always loosing contact with the enemy, engine trouble and returning to port ahead of schedule).

From the beginning U-boat headquarters suspected that Hirsacker’s interest to seek out and destroy the enemy was less-than-impressive. He was criticized by staffers for his 1st and 2nd patrols but the third patrol where he failed to enter the Mediterranean raised serious alarms at U-boat high command. Entering the med was risky but at that stage in the war not overly so and 2 other U-boats successfully finished the trip when Hirsacker aborted and asked for other orders.

Upon his return he was given a strong rebuke from his superiors (quotes like “lacks the necessary energy, resolve and absolute will to succeed”, “his attempt to break through the Straits of Gibraltar was pursued with little vigor and then given up for no discernible reason.”)

It was probably this sharp criticism and warnings from superiors that gave Hirsacker renewed activities for on the next patrol (his 4th) he sank 2 ships and damaged the third and several times discovered convoys although he often lost contact himself. This self-confidence was not to last long for on his 6th and last patrol in late 1942 he manipulated his war diary and spent much of the time submerged where his boat was all but useless to the war effort.

Upon return to La Pallice one of his officers spoke about his suspicions with U-boat command staffers and on 18 Dec, 1942 Hirsacker was relieved of his command of U-572. He was assigned to the destroyers Hans Lody (Z 10) and Z 33 plus an assignment from Jan-Apr 1943 for Commander-in-Chief Destroyers pending investigations into Paragraphs 84 and 85 of the Military Criminal Code-cowardice in the presence of the enemy.

Not much is known about his court-martial, held in Paris and he was found guilty as charged and sentenced to die by a firing-squad. Hirsacker hoped that the navy would give him a second chance to prove himself to the very end. However, when all his pleas for clemency had been rejected and his execution seemed imminent he asked a trusted fellow offer from Crew 34 for a pistol to take his own life, which he did on April 24, 1943.

His fellow officers were thoroughly split about his fate, some felt it was “just, but harsh” while others believed that there was no excuse and that he should have seen the consequences of his actions in time.

Patrol info

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-572	2 Sep, 1941	Trondheim	2 Oct, 1941	Lorient	Patrol,	31 days
2.	U-572	30 Oct, 1941	Lorient	29 Nov, 1941	Brest	Patrol,	31 days
3.	U-572	7 Jan, 1942	Brest	10 Feb, 1942	Brest	Patrol,	35 days
4.	U-572	14 Mar, 1942	Brest	14 May, 1942	La Pallice	Patrol,	62 days
5.	U-572	30 Jun, 1942	La Pallice	3 Sep, 1942	La Pallice	Patrol,	66 days
6.	U-572	12 Oct, 1942	La Pallice	22 Nov, 1942	La Pallice	Patrol,	42 days
					6 patrols, 267 days at sea

Ships hit by Heinz Hirsacker

Date	Boat	Name of ship	Tons	Nat.		Convoy	Fate *
4 Apr, 1942	U-572	Ensis	6.207		br		damaged
16 Apr, 1942	U-572	Desert Light	2.368		pa
20 Apr, 1942	U-572	Empire Dryden	7.164		br
7 Aug, 1942	U-572	Delfshaven	5.281		nl
			21.020
* Unless otherwise noted the ships listed here were sunk.