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. 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 .
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . 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.
Service history At 04:45 on 4 October 1939, U-23 scored one of the Kriegsmarines 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 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.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, page 5
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 TonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement. Fate4 October 1939Glen Farg876Sunk8 December 1939Scotia2,400Sunk11 January 1940Fredville1,150Sunk12 January 1940Danmark10,517Total loss23 January 1940Varild1,085Sunk18 February 19401,375Sunk19 February 19405,225Sunk22 February 1940Loch Maddy4,996Total loss24 August 1943Shkval35Sunk15 October 1943TSC-486 Sovetskja Rossiya1,005Damaged23 October 1943Tanais372Sunk5 April 1944SKA-09956Damaged29 May 1944Smelyj71Sunk1 September 1944Oituz2,686Sunk
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