The Men - U-boat Commanders

Hans-Georg Hess

Oberleutnant zur See der Reserve (entry, Jahrgang 40)

Successes
3 ships sunk, total tonnage 1,560 GRT
1 auxiliary warship sunk, total tonnage 633 GRT
1 warship sunk, total tonnage 105 tons
1 ship a total loss, total tonnage 7,176 GRT

Born	6 May 1923		Berlin
Died	29 Mar 2008	(84)	Wunstorf-Idensen, Germany

Hans Georg Hess

Ranks

1 Mar 1944

Oberleutnant zur See der Reserve

Decorations

		Iron Cross 2nd Class
		Iron Cross 1st Class
11 Feb 1945		Knights Cross

U-boat Commands

U-boat	From	To
U-995	10 Oct 1944	9 May 1945	5 patrols (113 days)

Hans Georg Hess on board.

Hans Georg Hess joined the Kriegsmarine at the age of 16 in April 1940 as a volunteer. He spent two years on various minesweepers before transferring to the U-boat force in April 1942.

He made five patrols on U-466, mostly in the North Atlantic. During her fifth patrol the boat managed to break through into the Mediterranean.

In September 1944 Hess took over U-995 and made five patrols in the Arctic Ocean. The boat surrendered on 8 May 1945 in Trondheim. Hans Georg Hess then spent a year in Norwegian captivity.

Later he became a lawyer in Hannover. He passed away on 29 March 2008 at his home in Wunstorf-Idensen, Germany and he is buried at the village cemetery.

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1998). 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-Georg Hess

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-995	14 Oct 1944	Skjomenfjord	11 Nov 1944	Narvik	Patrol 1,	29 days
2.	U-995	30 Nov 1944	Narvik	9 Dec 1944	Bogenbucht	Patrol 2,	10 days
3.	U-995	11 Dec 1944	Bogenbucht	7 Jan 1945	Narvik	Patrol 3,	28 days
4.	U-995	2 Feb 1945	Narvik	6 Mar 1945	Narvik	Patrol 4,	33 days
5.	U-995	13 Mar 1945	Narvik	25 Mar 1945	Harstad	Patrol 5,	13 days
6.	U-995	26 Mar 1945	Harstad	28 Mar 1945	Trondheim		3 days
5 patrols, 113 days at sea

Ships hit by Hans-Georg Hess

Date	U-boat	Commander	Name of ship	Tons		Convoy
5 Dec 1944	U-995	Hans-Georg Hess	Proletarij	1,123	sj	PK-20
21 Dec 1944	U-995	Hans-Georg Hess	Reshitel’nyj	20	sj
26 Dec 1944	U-995	Hans-Georg Hess	RT-52 Som	417	sj
29 Dec 1944	U-995	Hans-Georg Hess	T-883 (No 37)	633	sj	KB-37

2 Mar 1945	U-995	Hans-Georg Hess	BO-224	105	sj
20 Mar 1945	U-995	Hans-Georg Hess	Horace Bushnell (t.)	7,176	am	JW-65
				9,474
6 ships sunk (9,474 tons). Legend We have a picture of this vessel. (t.) means the ship was a total loss (included in ships & tonnage lost).