{{Short description|German U-boat commander in World War II}} {{more citations needed|date=November 2016}} __NOTOC__{{Infobox military person |name=Hans Heidtmann |birth_date={{birth date|1914|8|8|df=y}} |death_date={{death date and age|1976|4|5|1914|8|8|df=y}} |birth_place=<!----Lübeck |death_place=Hamburg----> |image= |caption= |nickname= |allegiance={{flag|Nazi Germany}} <br/>{{flag|West Germany}} |service_years=1934–1942<br/>1958–1972 |rank=Kapitänleutnant (Kriegsmarine)<br/>Kapitän zur See (Bundesmarine) |branch={{navy|Nazi Germany}}<br/>{{navy|GER}} |commands={{GS|U-14|1936|2}}<br />{{GS|U-2|1935|2}}<br />{{GS|U-559||2}} |unit=<!---SSS ''Gorch Fock''<br />cruiser ''Emden''<br />Panzerschiff ''Deutschland''<br />{{GS|U-14|1936|2}}---> |battles=World War II |awards=Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |relations= |other_work= }} '''Hans Heidtmann''' (8 August 1914 – 5 April 1976) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross from Nazi Germany.
{{GS|U-559||2}} under the command of Heidtmann came under attack by several British warships and an aircraft on 30 October 1942. Fatally damaged and forced to the surface, the U-boat was abandoned after being scuttled in the Mediterranean. A British boarding party, consisting of Lieutenant Francis Anthony Blair Fasson, Able Seaman Colin Grazier, and Canteen Assistant Tommy Brown, from destroyer {{HMS|Petard|G56|6}} recovered the cryptographic materials, but the U-boat sank before the Enigma cipher machine could be brought out. Eight German crewmen and two British seamen were lost, and 37 German survivors were taken as prisoner of war.
==Awards== * Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (8 April 1938)<ref>Busch & Röll 2003, p. 341.</ref> * Spanish Cross in Bronze with Swords (6 June 1939)<ref name="Busch & Röll p342">Busch & Röll 2003, p. 342.</ref> * Sudetenland Medal (16 September 1939)<ref name="Busch & Röll p342"/> * U-boat War Badge (1939) (26 November 1939)<ref name="Busch & Röll p342"/> * Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (27 November 1939) & 1st Class (23 September 1941)<ref name="Busch & Röll p342"/> * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 12 April 1943 as ''Kapitänleutnant'' and commander of ''U-559''<ref>Scherzer 2007, p. 374.</ref>
==References==
===Citations=== {{Reflist|25em}}
===Bibliography=== {{Refbegin}} * {{Cite book |last1=Busch |first1=Rainer |last2=Röll |first2=Hans-Joachim |year=2003 |title=Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 |trans-title=The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945 |language=German |location=Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany |publisher=Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn |isbn=978-3-8132-0515-2 }} * {{Cite book |last=Scherzer |first=Veit |year=2007 |title=Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives |trans-title=The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives |language=German |location=Jena, Germany |publisher=Scherzers Militaer-Verlag |isbn=978-3-938845-17-2 }} {{Refend}}
{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{succession box |before= Fregattenkapitän Gerd Schreiber |after= Kapitän zur See Karl-Heinz Wünn |title=Commander of the ''Marinestützpunktkommando Wilhelmshaven'' |years=April 1964 – September 1965 }} {{s-end}}
{{Subject bar | portal1=Biography }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heidtmann, Hans}} Category:1914 births Category:1976 deaths Category:U-boat commanders (Kriegsmarine) Category:German military personnel of the Spanish Civil War Category:Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Category:Military personnel from Lübeck Category:Reichsmarine personnel Category:German Navy personnel