Hans Witt

Hans-Ludwig Witt (25 December 1909 in Bautzen&mdash;13 February 1980 in Hamburg-Poppenbüttel) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. With nineteen ships sunk for a total of, he was the thirty-second highest scoring U-Boat ace of World War II.

Career
Witt joined the Reichsmarine in 1929, and in October 1940 entered U-boat training, taking command of GS U-161 (1941) as part of training flotilla 4th U-boat Flotilla in July 1941. He then took command of GS U-129 (1941) as a member of 2nd U-boat Flotilla in May 1942. Witt sailed on three successful combat patrols in the western Atlantic and the Caribbean between May 1942 and July 1943, sinking 19 ships for a total of, including Mexican tankers Tuxpam and Las Choapas.

Witt spent a year on the BdU staff, before returning to active duty in January 1945 commanding GS U-3524, one of the new Type XXI Elektroboote that were commissioned under U-boat commanders such as Adalbert Schnee, Peter-Erich Cremer, Carl Emmermann and Erich Topp to try and turn the tide in the Atlantic. However, Witt sailed on no combat patrols and sank no ships in his new U-boat. He died in 1980.

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (23 August 1942)
 * 1st Class (23 August 1942)
 * U-boat War Badge (1939) (23 August 1942)
 * U-boat Front Clasp (7 October 1944)
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 17 December 1942 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-129