Hans-Hartwig Trojer

Hans-Hartwig Trojer (22 January 1916 – 27 September 1943) was a German U-Boat commander in World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Naval Career
He joined the Kriegsmarine in April 1936 and was a member of the Olympia crew. Because he had been born in Transylvania, he was nicknamed Count Dracula by his comrades. In 1938 he joined the U-boat service, and spent his first two years as watch officer on the GS U-34 (1936) and GS U-67 (1940).

After completing his commander training, Trojer was promoted to Oberleutnant zur See and took command of the GS U-3 (1935). In March 1942 he was assigned to command the new Type VIIc boat GS U-221. He sank six ships for a total of 29,682 GRT on his first patrol and he and his crew earned a mention in the Wehrmachtbericht for this. On his third patrol he was informed by a radio message that he had received the Knights cross. On 1 April 1943 he received a promotion to Kapitänleutnant.

Hans-Hartwig Trojer was killed when U-221 was sunk with all hands by a British Halifax bomber south of Ireland on 27 September 1943.

Awards

 * U-boat War Badge (1939) (12 November 1939)
 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (7 February 1940)
 * 1st Class (5 August 1940)
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 24 March 1943 as Oberleutnant zur See and commander of U-221
 * Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 14 October 1942