Hans-Ludwig Witt

Korvettenkapitän (Crew 29)

Successes
19 ships sunk, total tonnage 100,773 GRT

Born	25 Dec 1909		Bautzen, Saxony
Died	13 Feb 1980	(70)	Hamburg / Poppenbüttel, Germany

Korvettenkapitän Hans Witt wearing his Knights Cross.

Ranks

1 Apr 1929		Offiziersanwärter
10 Oct 1929		Seekadett
1 Jan 1931		Fähnrich zur See
1 Apr 1933		Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Oct 1933		Leutnant zur See
1 Jun 1935		Oberleutnant zur See
1 Jul 1938		Kapitänleutnant
1 Feb 1943		Korvettenkapitän

Decorations

23 Aug 1942		Iron Cross 2nd Class
23 Aug 1942		Iron Cross 1st Class
23 Aug 1942		U-boat War Badge 1939
17 Dec 1942		Knights Cross
7 Oct 1944		U-boat Front Clasp

U-boat Commands

U-boat	From	To
U-161	8 Jul 1941	30 Nov 1941	No war patrols
U-161	1 Dec 1941	31 Dec 1941	No war patrols
U-129	14 May 1942	8 Jul 1943	3 patrols (275 days)
U-3524	26 Jan 1945	5 May 1945	No war patrols

Hans Witt spent his first years in the navy on school ships, including the Gorch Fock and the Schlageter. In October 1940 he began U-boat training. After taking over command of the type IXC/40 U-129 from Kptlt Clausen, he completed three very successful patrols in the western Atlantic and Caribbean, sinking 19 ships totalling over 100,000 tons. Afterwards he spent a year as a member of the BdU (U-boat Command) staff.

In the last months of the war he was one of the highly decorated U-boat commanders (like Schnee, Cremer, Emmermann and Topp) who took command of the new Elektro U-boats in an attempt to turn the tide in the battle of the Atlantic (in his case the type XXI Elektro U-boat U-3524, scuttled before she finished training).

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1997). Der U-Bootkrieg 1939-1945 (Band 2).

Patrol info for Hans-Ludwig Witt

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-129	20 May 1942	Lorient	21 Aug 1942	Lorient	Patrol 1,	94 days
2.	U-129	28 Sep 1942	Lorient	6 Jan 1943	Lorient	Patrol 2,	101 days
3.	U-129	11 Mar 1943	Lorient	29 May 1943	Lorient	Patrol 3,	80 days
3 patrols, 275 days at sea

Ships hit by Hans-Ludwig Witt

Date	U-boat	Name of ship	Tons		Convoy
10 Jun 1942	U-129	L.A. Christensen	4,362	nw
12 Jun 1942	U-129	Hardwicke Grange	9,005	br
17 Jun 1942	U-129	Millinocket	3,274	am
27 Jun 1942	U-129	Tuxpam	7,008	me
27 Jun 1942	U-129	Las Choapas	2,005	me
1 Jul 1942	U-129	Cadmus	1,855	nw
2 Jul 1942	U-129	Gundersen	1,841	nw
4 Jul 1942	U-129	Tuapse	6,320	sj
12 Jul 1942	U-129	Tachirá	2,325	am
19 Jul 1942	U-129	Port Antonio	1,266	nw
23 Jul 1942	U-129	Onondaga	2,309	am
16 Oct 1942	U-129	Trafalgar	5,542	nw
23 Oct 1942	U-129	Reuben Tipton	6,829	am
30 Oct 1942	U-129	West Kebar	5,620	am
5 Nov 1942	U-129	Meton	7,027	am	TAG-18
5 Nov 1942	U-129	Astrell	7,595	nw	TAG-18

2 Apr 1943	U-129	Melbourne Star	12,806	br
24 Apr 1943	U-129	Santa Catalina	6,507	am
4 May 1943	U-129	Panam	7,277	pa	NK-538
			100,773
19 ships sunk (100,773 tons). Legend We have a picture of this vessel.

About ranks and decorations
Ranks shown in italics are our database inserts based on the rank dates of his crew comrades. The officers of each crew would normally have progressed through the lower ranks at the same rate.