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Born	27 Sep 1906		Grimnitz
Died	14 Aug 1984	(77)

Ranks 26 Oct 1926   Seekadett 1 Apr 1928   Fähnrich zur See 1 Oct 1930   Leutnant zur See 1 Aug 1932   Oberleutnant zur See 1 Apr 1936   Kapitänleutnant 1 Oct 1940   Korvettenkapitän 1 Apr 1944   Fregattenkapitän Decorations     War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords     Iron Cross 1st Class     Iron Cross 2nd Class     U-boat Front Clasp     Spanish Cross in Bronze with Swords     U-boat War Badge 1939

Hans Pauckstadt joined the Reichsmarine in 1926. He studied at the Anti-Submarine School from Oct 1935 to Jan 1936 when he took command of the small U-18 on 4 Jan 1935. On 20 Nov 1936 U-18 was sunk in a collision with torpedo boat T 156. Eight died and 12 survived, among them U-18's commander (Busch & Röll, 1999).

Kptlt. Pauckstadt then took command of U-12 from 1 Dec 1936 until 1 Oct 1937, when he joined the 6th Flotilla, staying there until Feb 1938. On 15 Feb 1938 Pauckstadt took command of the larger ocean-going boats U-30 and U-34 until 17 Aug 1938. He then briefly joined U-boat Command staff before again taking command of U-34 on 5 Sept 1938.

Kptlt. Pauckstadt left U-34 on 28 Oct 1938 to take up a long series of staff postions, including two stints on the sailing school ship Gorch Fock in 1938 and 1939. From Aug 1939 to Sept 1941 he worked on FdU staff (U-boat Command). In this capacity he deputised as commander of U-516, relieving the ill Wiebe from 11-27 May 1942 while the boat was undergoing trials and work-up in the Baltic (Busch & Röll, 1999).

Hans Pauckstadt was acting commander of the 5th (Training) Flotilla Sep - Nov 1942, when he began U-boat construction familiarization (Baubelehrung) in preparation for his own command of a new boat. On 10 Dec 1942 he commissioned the large type IXC/40 U-boat U-193 at Bremen (Busch & Röll, 1999). After five months training in the Baltic, KrvKpt. Pauckstadt took the boat out from Kiel on 11 May 1943, for Bergen, Norway. From there he left for his first war patrol on 22 May 1943. The patrol was into the North Atlantic and then to the east coast of North Africa. U-193 arrived at her new base at Bordeaux after 63 days at sea on 23 July 1943 (Busch & Röll, 1997).

On 12 Oct 1943 KrvKpt. Pauckstadt left La Pallice, France for his second patrol, this time to the Gulf of Mexico. On 3 Dec, having reached the Gulf Pauckstadt sank his only ship, the large American tanker Touchet (10,172 tons) (Rohwer, 1998). While returning through the Bay of Biscay on 9 Feb 1944, the boat was severely damaged in an Allied air attack and sought shelter in the neutral Spanish port of El Ferrol. U-193 left or France ten days later, reaching Lorient on 23 Feb. (Busch & Röll, 1997).

The recently promoted Fregattenkapitän Pauckstadt took command of the 8th (Training) Flotilla in May 1944. He led the flotilla until Feb 1945 when he took command of 1st UAA, another training unit, a post he held until the German surrender (Busch & Röll, 1999).

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).
Niestlé, A. (1998). German U-boat losses during World War II.
Rohwer, J. (1998). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two.

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