German submarine U-23 (1936)
German submarine U-23 was a Type IIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine, built in Germaniawerft, Kiel. She was laid down on 11 April 1936 and commissioned on 24 September.
![]() U-9, a typical Type IIB boat | |
History | |
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Name: | U-23 |
Ordered: | 2 February 1935 |
Builder: | |
Yard number: | 553 |
Laid down: | 11 April 1936 |
Launched: | 28 August 1936 |
Commissioned: | 24 September 1936 |
Fate: | Scuttled 10 September 1944, off the coast of Turkey in the Black Sea |
General characteristics | |
Class and type: | IIB coastal submarine |
Displacement: |
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Length: |
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Beam: |
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Height: | 8.60 m (28 ft 3 in) |
Draught: | 3.90 m (12 ft 10 in) |
Installed power: |
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Propulsion: |
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Range: |
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Test depth: | 80 m (260 ft) |
Complement: | 3 officers, 22 men |
Armament: |
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Service record | |
Part of: | |
Identification codes: | M 01 984 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: | 16 |
Victories: |
Design
German Type IIB submarines were enlarged versions of the original Type IIs. U-23 had a displacement of 279 tonnes (275 long tons) when at the surface and 328 tonnes (323 long tons) while submerged. Officially, the standard tonnage was 250 long tons (250 t), however.[1] The U-boat had a total length of 42.70 m (140 ft 1 in), a pressure hull length of 28.20 m (92 ft 6 in), a beam of 4.08 m (13 ft 5 in), a height of 8.60 m (28 ft 3 in), and a draught of 3.90 m (12 ft 10 in). The submarine was powered by two MWM RS 127 S four-stroke, six-cylinder diesel engines of 700 metric horsepower (510 kW; 690 shp) for cruising, two Siemens-Schuckert PG VV 322/36 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 460 metric horsepower (340 kW; 450 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 0.85 m (3 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 80–150 metres (260–490 ft).[1]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph).[1] When submerged, the boat could operate for 35–42 nautical miles (65–78 km; 40–48 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 3,800 nautical miles (7,000 km; 4,400 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph). U-23 was fitted with three 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes at the bow, five torpedoes or up to twelve Type A torpedo mines, and a 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of twentyfive.[1]
Service history
At 04:45 on 4 October 1939, U-23 scored one of the Kriegsmarine's early successes of the war when she torpedoed and sank with gunfire, the merchant ship Glen Farg about 60 nmi (110 km; 69 mi) south-southwest of Sumburgh Head (southern Shetland). One person died, while 16 survivors were picked up by HMS Firedrake and landed at Kirkwall the next day.
In 16 patrols U-23 sank seven ships for a total of 11,179 gross register tons (GRT) including two warships, as well as damaging a warship and an auxiliary warship.
Over the course of her service with the Kriegsmarine, U-23 had ten commanding officers, the most famous of whom was Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer, who went on to become the top scoring U-boat ace. After service in the Atlantic with the 1st U-boat Flotilla, U-23 served as a training boat with the 21st U-boat Flotilla from July 1940 until September 1942. U-23 was then transported in sections along the Danube to the Romanian port of Galați. She was then re-assembled by the Romanians at the Galați shipyard and sent to the Black Sea port of Constanţa, Romania, with the 30th U-boat Flotilla until September 1944.[2]
Fate
U-23 was scuttled by her crew on 10 September 1944, off the coast of Turkey in the Black Sea at position 41°11′N 30°00′E to prevent her capture by the advancing Soviets.
On 3 February 2008, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that U-23 had been discovered by Selçuk Kolay, a Turkish marine engineer, in 160 ft (49 m) of water, three miles from the town of Ağva.[3][4]
Summary of raiding history
Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[5] |
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4 October 1939 | Glen Farg | ![]() |
876 | Sunk |
8 December 1939 | Scotia | ![]() |
2,400 | Sunk |
11 January 1940 | Fredville | ![]() |
1,150 | Sunk |
12 January 1940 | Danmark | ![]() |
10,517 | Total loss |
23 January 1940 | Varild | ![]() |
1,085 | Sunk |
18 February 1940 | HMS Daring | ![]() |
1,375 | Sunk |
19 February 1940 | Tiberton | ![]() |
5,225 | Sunk |
22 February 1940 | Loch Maddy | ![]() |
4,996 | Total loss |
24 August 1943 | Shkval | ![]() |
35 | Sunk |
15 October 1943 | TSC-486 Sovetskja Rossiya | ![]() |
1,005 | Damaged |
23 October 1943 | Tanais | ![]() |
372 | Sunk |
5 April 1944 | SKA-099 | ![]() |
56 | Damaged |
29 May 1944 | Smelyj | ![]() |
71 | Sunk |
1 September 1944 | Oituz | ![]() |
2,686 | Sunk |
References
Notes
- Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
Citations
- Gröner 1991, pp. 39–40.
- Steel and Ice: The U-boat Battle in the Arctic and Black Sea 1941-45, Chapter 5 - The Black Sea: War in the South 1942-43, 5th page
- Jasper Copping (3 February 2008). "Adolf Hitler's 'lost fleet' found in Black Sea". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
- Andy McSmith (11 February 2008). "Hitler's 'lost fleet' of U-boats found in Black Sea". The Independent. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-23". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
Bibliography
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IIB boat U-23". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 23". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 6 December 2014.