German submarine U-23 (1936)

<th colspan="2" >Service record

U-9, a typical Type IIB boat
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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.

Design

German Type IIB submarines were enlarged versions of the original Type IIs. U-23 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. Officially, the standard tonnage was , however.Template:Sfn The U-boat had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two MWM RS 127 S four-stroke, six-cylinder diesel engines of for cruising, two Siemens-Schuckert PG VV 322/36 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to .Template:Sfn

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of .Template:Sfn When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . U-23 was fitted with three torpedo tubes at the bow, five torpedoes or up to twelve Type A torpedo mines, and a anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of twentyfive.Template:Sfn

Service history

At 04:45 on 4 October 1939, U-23 scored one of the KriegsmarineTemplate:'s early successes of the war when she torpedoed and sank with gunfire, the merchant ship Glen Farg about south-southwest of Sumburgh Head (southern Shetland). One person died, while 16 survivors were picked up by and landed at Kirkwall the next day.

In 16 patrols U-23 sank seven ships for a total of Template: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.

Fate

U-23 was scuttled by her crew on 10 September 1944, off the coast of Turkey in the Black Sea at position 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 of water, three miles from the town of Ağva.

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage	Fate
4 October 1939	Glen Farg	Template:Flagcountry	876	Sunk
8 December 1939	Scotia	Template:Flagcountry	2,400	Sunk
11 January 1940	Fredville	Template:Flagcountry	1,150	Sunk
12 January 1940	Danmark	Template:Flagcountry	10,517	Total loss
23 January 1940	Varild	Template:Flagcountry	1,085	Sunk
18 February 1940		Template:Navy/core	1,375	Sunk
19 February 1940		Template:Flagcountry	5,225	Sunk
22 February 1940	Loch Maddy	Template:Flagcountry	4,996	Total loss
24 August 1943	Shkval	Template:Navy/core	35	Sunk
15 October 1943	TSC-486 Sovetskja Rossiya	Template:Navy/core	1,005	Damaged
23 October 1943	Tanais	Template:Flagcountry	372	Sunk
5 April 1944	SKA-099	Template:Navy/core	56	Damaged
29 May 1944	Smelyj	Template:Flagcountry	71	Sunk
1 September 1944	Oituz	Template:Flagcountry	2,686	Sunk