Mediama wrote:Character DescriptionName: Hans Dietrich
Gender: Male
Appearance:
Original Lifespan: 1912-1944
Biological Age now: 32
Strengths and WeaknessesSkills: Having been the captain of a German U-Boat for two years, and having been trained for four years as a naval cadet before that, Hans had developed the leadership skills needed during times of duress. His subbordinates saw him as a strict, but fair captain (almost fatherly), and their subsequent confidence in him garnered loyalty to him. His years of service in the Kreigsmarine also made him adept at nautical navigation (including dead reackoning), naval tactics (specificially U-Boat tactics), and at managing a naval vessel.
Weaknesses: Having had a military upbringing for most of his life, Hans hasn't developed the political skills to practice tact, and at times is rather upfront and blunt on matters, especially if they are life and death situations. His experiences in the Battle of the Atlantic have also made him develop a general sense of pessimissim and nhilism, especially when it comes to inept military or political leadership.
Background:Backstory: Born in 1912 to a military family in Munich, Dietrich knew nothing but the militaristic lifestyle his father had taught him. His father served in the Great War, and his father before him served in the Franco-Prussian War. Even further lineage went as far back to the Napoleonic Wars. Unlike his father or his grandfather, however, Hans had the distinct fascination with the ocean, reading books such as Treasure Island, or books on Nelson, or even naval history in general.
This fascination stuck with him to his enlistment in 1932, where he enlisted in the Reichsmarine as an officer cannidate, completing basic training in six months. He was then promoted to sea cadet and attended officer's training for a year, before attending two more years of at-sea training, earning the rank of Leutenant zur See once his training was complete. Shortly afterwards, he was deployed to various posts for a year, getting promoted to Oberleutenant zur See for his time in service in the process. He then applied to the submarine branch in 1937.
His first post in the submarine branch was as an XO on board U-73, a type VIIB U-Boat. He was there for one patrol before he was assigned his own own command on U-201, a type VIIC U-Boat, state of the art for 1940. During this time, he participated in eight successful patrols in the Western Approaches, and in the Mid-Atlantic during the "good times", quickly getting promoted to Kapitänleutnant for the numerous tonnage he sank during these patrols. During these times, he would also take on a war correspondant for a patrol or two to document the experiences during this time. Although he was offered a promotion to Korvettenkapitän in 1932 in exchange for transfer off of U-201, he decided to stay out of an obligation for his men, turning down the promotion.
As the Battle of the Atlantic dragged on however, the tides of war began to turn for the Kriegsmarine. The number of friends he knew in his younger years would become smaller as they fell victim one by one to the ever-evolving anti-submarine tactics the allied forces used. New skippers and new crew members would take their places, some of them young enough to be his children at some points, hand-picked from the Hitlerjungand and disturbingly loyal to the Riech. With much of his old crew dead or transferred, Dietrich would eventually accept the offer for promotion in exchange for a new command to another U-Boat instead of a desk job as U-201 was decomissioned from active service. He would take command of U-292, a type VIIC/41 U-Boat. Despite all of this, the instinct Dietrich had developed from his experiences made him worry that his time, along with his luck, was running out.
On the evening of February 1944, his third patrol under U-292 would turn out to be his last. He and a wolfpack had found a convoy headed to the Western Approaches, and had moved in for the kill. Suddenly, Dietrich heard the ping of sonar hit his boat signifying his detection by a nearby sub. He quickly ordered for his boat to dive, cutting the engines in hopes the destroyers above wouldn't pick them up on the hydrophones as they drifted down to a thermal layer.With the invention of hedgehog mortars however, they didn't stand a chance. Soon they were bombarded, first with hedgehogs, then with depth charges as soon as the hedgehogs made contact with the boat, and more destroyers joined in on the hunt.
Dietrich's boat was taking on water quickly, as the depth meter rapidly rose beyond the normal crush depth of his boat. As he heard the creaking of the bulkheads around him, Dietrich realized this was the end. As they continued to sink further below the waves, he quietly accepted his fate as the men around him paniced and sparks flew around them, the resulting implosion happening so quickly, he barely registered any pain as he met his end.
Cause of death: Implosion from sinking to crush depth from depth charges.
After consultation with the rest of the committee, this is accepted. uwu