Hans-Georg Hess

Infobox Military Person
name=Hans-Georg Hess
lived=birth date|1923|5|6|df=y – death date and age|2008|3|29|1923|5|6|df=y
placeofbirth=Berlin
placeofdeath=Wunstorf-Idensen


caption=
nickname=
allegiance=Germany
branch=Kriegsmarine
serviceyears=1940 -
rank=Oberleutnant zur See
commands="U-995", 10 October 1944 – 8 May 1945
unit=3. Unterseebootsflottille
29. Unterseebootsflottille
13. Unterseebootsflottille
14. Unterseebootsflottille
battles=
awards=Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
laterwork=

Hans-Georg Hess (6 May 1923 – 29 March 2008) was a German U-boat commander of the Second World War. He commanded a single U-boat from September 1944 until the end of the war, and sank five ships for a total of 2,298 GRT, and caused another to be declared a total loss for 7,176 GRT. For this he received the Knight's Cross.

Career

Hess joined the Kriegsmarine as a volunteer in April 1940, when he was 16. He was initially assigned to the surface fleet, where he spent two years on minesweepers before transferring to the U-boat force in April 1942. He was first assigned to "U-466" and was with her for her last five patrols, which were mostly spent in the North Atlantic. She broke into the Mediterranean during her last patrol, but was caught in Toulon during the Allied invasion of the south of France and was scuttled on 19 August 1944. Hess returned to Germany, having been promoted to Oberleutnant zur See on 1 March 1944.

He was appointed to command "U-995" and took command on 10 October 1944. He eventually carried out a total of five patrols with her in the Arctic Sea, sinking a number of Soviet ships and causing one American one to be written off. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 11 February 1945. With the end of the war, "U-995" surrendered on 8 May 1945 in Trondheim. Hess was imprisoned by the Norwegians, eventually spending a year in captivity.

After his release he returned to Germany, eventually becoming a lawyer in Hannover. He died on 20 March 2008 in Wunstorf-Idensen at the age of 84, and is buried at the village cemetery.

References

* Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). "Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945". Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
* Kurowski, Franz (1995). "Knight's Cross Holders of the U-Boat Service". Schiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-88740-748-X.
* Range, Clemens (1974). "Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine". Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-87943-355-0.

;External links
* [http://www.uboat.net/men/hess.htm Hans-Georg Hess at Uboat.net]