Hans Jenisch

Hans Jenisch (19 October 1913 – 29 April 1982) was a Kapitänleutnant in Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II and a Kapitän zur See in West Germany's Bundesmarine. He commanded the Type VIIA U-boat U-32, sinking seventeen ships on seven patrols, for a total of 110,139 gross register tons (GRT) of Allied shipping, to become the 26th highest scoring U-boat ace of World War II.

Hans Jenisch
Born(1913-10-19)19 October 1913
Gerdauen, East Prussia
(now Zheleznodorozhny, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia)
Died29 April 1982(1982-04-29) (aged 68)
Kronshagen near Kiel
Allegiance Nazi Germany (to 1945)
 West Germany (1956-1972)
Service/branch Kriegsmarine
 German Navy
Years of service1933–45
1956–72
RankKapitänleutnant (Kriegsmarine)
Kapitän zur See (Bundesmarine)
UnitSSS Gorch Fock
cruiser Karlsruhe
cruiser Deutschland
Commands heldU-32
Hipper
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Career

Jenisch joined the navy, then named Reichsmarine, in 1933, and after serving in the cruiser Deutschland transferred to the U-boat arm in 1937. He served as 1WO (second-in-command) of U-32 under Werner Lott, before taking command of the U-boat in February 1940.

Empress of Britain

On 26 October 1940, Empress of Britain was spotted by a German Focke-Wulf C 200 Condor long-range bomber, commanded by Oberleutnant Bernhard Jope. Jope's bomber strafed Empress of Britain three times and hit her twice with 250 kilograms (550 lb) bombs causing severe damage to the ship. Jenisch had been informed of the location of the damaged vessel and intercepted her on the evening of 27 October. Jenisch fired three torpedoes, hitting her twice. Empress of Britain sank at 02:05 on 28 October 1940. At 42,348 gross tons, she was the largest ship sunk by a German U-boat.[1]

Capture

Jenisch was captured on 30 October 1940 after U-32 was sunk north-west of Ireland by the British destroyers Harvester and Highlander. Nine of her crew died, but 33 survived to be taken prisoner, including Jenisch. He spent the next 6.5 years in British captivity before his return to Germany in June 1947.[2]

Post-war

Even though Jenisch became known as a celebrated U-boat commander, his subsequent assessment of submarines was highly negative. In POW camp, he told a shocked Wilfried Prellberg (ex-CO of U-31) he considered submarines in warfare "obsolete. All of it." On joining the West German Bundesmarine in 1956, Jenisch held staff positions and commanded the training frigate Hipper (originally a Black Swan-class sloop, the ex-HMS Actaeon) for a time.[2][3]

Jenisch was Divisional Training Commander at the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr in Hamburg from 1 October 1966 to 31 March 1970. He retired in 1972 with the rank of Kapitän zur See, and died in 1982.[2]

Summary of career

Ships attacked

During seven patrols he sank 17 ships, including the 42,348-ton RMS Empress of Britain, for a career total of 110,139 GRT, as well as damaging 3 ships for 22,749 tons, including the cruiser HMS Fiji.[2]

DateName of shipNationalityTonnageFate[4]
2 March 1940Lagaholm Sweden2,818Sunk
18 June 1940Altair Norway1,522Sunk
18 June 1940Nuevo Ons Spain108Sunk
18 June 1940Sálvora Spain108Sunk
19 June 1940Labud Yugoslavia5,334Sunk
22 June 1940Eli Knudsen Norway9,026Sunk
30 August 1940Chelsea United Kingdom4,804Sunk
30 August 1940Mill Hill United Kingdom4,318Sunk
30 August 1940Norne Norway3,971Sunk
1 September 1940HMS Fiji United Kingdom8,000Damaged
22 September 1940Collegian United Kingdom7,886Damaged
25 September 1940Mabriton United Kingdom6,694Sunk
26 September 1940Corrientes United Kingdom6,863Damaged
26 September 1940Darcoila United Kingdom4,084Sunk
26 September 1940Tancred Norway6,094Sunk
28 September 1940Empire Ocelot United Kingdom5,759Sunk
29 September 1940Bassa United Kingdom5,267Sunk
30 September 1940Haulerwijk Netherlands3,278Sunk
2 October 1940Kayeson United Kingdom4,606Sunk
28 October 1940Empress of Britain United Kingdom42,348Sunk

Awards
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References

Notes
  1. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Empress of Britain (Steam passenger ship)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  2. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Kapitänleutnant Hans Jenisch". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  3. Neitzel & Welzer (2012)
  4. http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u32/html
  5. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 75.
  6. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 243.
  7. Scherzer 2007, p. 419.

Bibliography
  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (2003). Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 978-3-8132-0515-2.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • Neitzel, Sönke & Welzer, Harald (2012): Soldaten: On Fighting, Killing and Dying: The Secret Second World War Tapes of German POWs.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). 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 [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] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
  • Helgason, Guðmundur. "Hans Jenisch". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
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