Dietrich von der Esch

Kapitänleutnant (Crew 34)

Successes
2 ships sunk, total tonnage 12,716 GRT
1 ship damaged, total tonnage 9,057 GRT

Born	31 Jan 1915		Berlin-Charlottenburg
Died	29 Sep 1944	(29)	South Atlantic

Ranks

8 Apr 1934		Offiziersanwärter
1 Jul 1935		Fähnrich zur See
1 Jan 1937		Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Apr 1937		Leutnant zur See
1 Apr 1939		Oberleutnant zur See
1 Apr 1942		Kapitänleutnant

Decorations

1939		Iron Cross 2nd Class
1940		Luftwaffe Observer Badge
1940		Iron Cross 1st Class
13 Feb 1942		U-boat War Badge 1939
15 Dec 1943		German Cross in Gold

U-boat Commands

U-boat	From	To
U-586	4 Sep 1941	30 Sep 1943	10 patrols (221 days)
U-606	14 Sep 1942	26 Sep 1942	1 patrol (13 days)
U-863	3 Nov 1943	29 Sep 1944 (+)	1 patrol (66 days)

Dietrich von der Esch joined the German Navy (Reichsmarine) in 1934. He was seconded to the Luftwaffe (air force) from Oct 1936 to Sept 1940 when he started U-boat training. In April 1941 he finished general U-boat training and began his U-boat commander training, lasting until June 1941.

He served as a Watch Officer (WO) on the U-98 from June to Aug 1941 when he was sent to lead a construction crew (Baubelehrung). He took command of the U-586 on 4 Sept 1941 - commanding the boat for 2 years. He was also briefly acting commander of the U-606 from 14 to 26 Sept 1941.

In Oct 1943 Dietrich von der Esch was sent to oversee the construction of the much larger type IXD2 boat U-863, taking command on 3 Nov. The boat was lost with all hands on its first mission on 29 Sept 1944 when enroute to the Far East as a Monsun boat.

Sources

Busch, R & Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.

Patrol info for Dietrich von der Esch

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-586	12 Jan 1942	Kiel	12 Feb 1942	Bergen	Patrol 1,	32 days
2.	U-586	16 Feb 1942	Bergen	19 Feb 1942	Trondheim		4 days
3.	U-586	14 Mar 1942	Trondheim	22 Mar 1942	Trondheim	Patrol 2,	9 days
4.	U-586	10 May 1942	Trondheim	1 Jun 1942	Skjomenfjord	Patrol 3,	23 days
5.	U-586	4 Jun 1942	Skjomenfjord	6 Jun 1942	Trondheim		3 days
6.	U-586	25 Jul 1942	Trondheim	16 Aug 1942	Narvik	Patrol 4,	23 days
7.	U-586	27 Aug 1942	Narvik	31 Aug 1942	Bergen		5 days
8.	U-606	14 Sep 1942	Bergen	26 Sep 1942	Bergen	Patrol 5,	13 days
9.	U-586	3 Oct 1942	Bergen	5 Oct 1942	Skjomenfjord		3 days
10.	U-586	11 Oct 1942	Skjomenfjord	12 Oct 1942	Harstad	Patrol 6,	2 days
11.	U-586	13 Oct 1942	Harstad	5 Nov 1942	Skjomenfjord	Patrol 6,	24 days
12.	U-586	18 Nov 1942	Skjomenfjord	1 Dec 1942	Bergen	Patrol 7,	14 days
13.	U-586	6 Dec 1942	Bergen	10 Dec 1942	Kiel		5 days
14.	U-586	11 Dec 1942	Kiel	11 Dec 1942	Hamburg		1 days
15.	U-586	7 Feb 1943	Hamburg	8 Feb 1943	Kiel		2 days
16.	U-586	25 Feb 1943	Kiel	1 Mar 1943	Bergen		5 days
17.	U-586	2 Mar 1943	Bergen	13 Mar 1943	Narvik	Patrol 8,	12 days
18.	U-586	15 Mar 1943	Narvik	16 Mar 1943	Trondheim		2 days
19.	U-586	29 Mar 1943	Trondheim	2 May 1943	Bergen	Patrol 9,	35 days
20.	U-586	27 May 1943	Bergen	31 May 1943	Hammerfest		5 days
21.	U-586	5 Jun 1943	Hammerfest	10 Jul 1943	Narvik	Patrol 10,	36 days
22.	U-586	18 Jul 1943	Narvik	19 Jul 1943	Tromsö		2 days
23.	U-586	21 Jul 1943	Tromsö	31 Jul 1943	Narvik	Patrol 11,	11 days
24.	U-586	3 Aug 1943	Narvik	4 Aug 1943	Trondheim		2 days
25.	U-586	6 Aug 1943	Trondheim	7 Aug 1943	Bergen		2 days
26.	U-863	3 Jul 1944	Kiel	5 Jul 1944	Horten		3 days
27.	U-863	10 Jul 1944	Horten	13 Jul 1944	Bergen		4 days
28.	U-863	20 Jul 1944	Bergen	21 Jul 1944	Trondheim		2 days
29.	U-863	26 Jul 1944	Trondheim	29 Sep 1944	Sunk	Patrol 12,	66 days
12 patrols, 300 days at sea

Ships hit by Dietrich von der Esch

Date	U-boat	Name of ship	Tons		Convoy
9 Feb 1942	U-586	Anna Knudsen (d.)	9,057	nw
2 Nov 1942	U-586	Empire Gilbert	6,640	br

9 Mar 1943	U-586	Puerto Rican	6,076	am	RA-53
			21,773
2 ships sunk (12,716 tons) and 1 ship damaged (9,057 tons). Legend We have a picture of this vessel. (d.) means the ship was damaged.

About ranks and decorations
Ranks shown in italics are our database inserts based on the rank dates of his crew comrades. The officers of each crew would normally have progressed through the lower ranks at the same rate.