| German submarine U-23 (1936) | |
|---|---|
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
| Name: | U-23 |
| Ordered: | 2 February 1935 |
| Builder: | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
| 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 | |
| Type: | IIB |
| Displacement: |
Surfaced 279 Tons Submerged 329 Tons |
| Length: | 42.7m (140.2Ft) |
| Beam: | 4.1m (13.5Ft) |
| Speed: |
Surfaced:13 Knots Submerged:7 Knots |
| Endurance: |
Surfaced 1,800 Miles at 12 Knots Submerged 43 Miles at 4 Knots |
| Crew: | 25 |
| Armament: | Three fore torpedo tubes with 6 x 21 inch Torpedos and 1 x 20mm AA gun on fore-deck |
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
Kriegsmarine: 1st U-boat Flotilla 21st U-boat Flotilla 30th U-boat Flotilla |
| Identification codes: | M 01 984 |
| Commanders: |
Eberhard Godt Hans-Günther Looff Otto Kretschmer Heinz Beduhn Heinrich Driver Kurt Reichenbach-Klinke Ernst-Ulrich Brüller Ulrich Gräf Rolf-Birger Wahlen Rudolf Arendt |
| Operations: | 16 |
| Victories: |
Seven ships sunk for a total of 11,179 gross register tons (GRT) Two warships sunk for a total of 1,410 tons One auxiliary warship of 1,005 GRT damaged One warship of 56 tons damaged Three ships declared a total loss for a total of 18,199 GRT |
German submarine U-23 was a Type IIB U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine, built in Germaniawerft, Kiel. She was laid down on 11 April 1936 and commissioned on 24 September.
Career[]
At 4:45 am 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 mi (97 km) 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 refitted and transported overland to the Black Sea port of Konstanza, Romania, with the 30th U-boat Flotilla until September 1944.
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 / 41.183°N 30°ECoordinates: 41°11′N 30°00′E / 41.183°N 30°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 Agva.[1][2]
Summary of raiding history[]
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 October 1939 | Glen Farg |  United Kingdom |
876 | Sunk |
| 8 December 1939 | Scotia |  Denmark |
2,400 | Sunk |
| 11 January 1940 | Fredville |  Norway |
1,150 | Sunk |
| 12 January 1940 | Danmark | Denmark |
10,517 | Total loss |
| 24 January 1940 | Varild | Norway |
1,085 | Sunk |
| 18 February 1940 | HMS Daring | United Kingdom |
1,375 | Sunk |
| 19 February 1940 | SS Tiberton | United Kingdom |
5,225 | Sunk |
| 22 February 1940 | Loch Maddy | United Kingdom |
4,996 | Total loss |
| 24 August 1943 | Shkval |  Soviet Union |
35 | Sunk |
| 15 October 1943 | TSC-486 Sovetskja Rossiya | Soviet Union |
1,005 | Damaged |
| 23 October 1943 | Tanais | Soviet Union |
372 | Sunk |
| 5 April 1944 | SKA-099 | Soviet Union |
56 | Damaged |
| 29 May 1944 | Smelyj | Soviet Union |
71 | Sunk |
| 1 September 1944 | Oituz |  Romania |
2,686 | Sunk |
References[]
- Notes
- ↑ Jasper Copping (3 February 2008). "Adolf Hitler's 'lost fleet' found in Black Sea". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1577456/Adolf-Hitlers-lost-fleet-found-in-Black-Sea.html. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
- ↑ Andy McSmith (11 February 2008). "Hitler's 'lost fleet' of U-boats found in Black Sea". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/hitlers-lost-fleet-of-uboats-found-in-the-black-sea-780701.html. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
- ↑ http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u23/html
- Bibliography
- U-boat.net webpage for U-23
- ubootwaffe.net webpage about U-23
- u-boot-archiv.de webpage for U-23
- "U-23". http://www.yachtingmonthly.com/auto/newsdesk/20080104112405ymnews.html. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
See also[]
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The original article can be found at German submarine U-23 (1936) and the edit history here.