U-23

Type

IIB

 
Ordered2 Feb 1935
Laid down 11 Apr 1936 F. Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel (werk 553)
Launched28 Aug 1936
Commissioned24 Sep 1936 
Commanders
1 Sep 1936 - 3 Jan 1938  KrvKpt. Eberhard Godt
1936/37 - 30 Sep 1937   Hans-Günther Looff
1 Oct 1937 - 1 Apr 1940  Kptlt. Otto Kretschmer (Knights Cross)
8 Apr 1940 - 19 May 1940  Kptlt. Heinz Beduhn
20 May 1940 - 30 Sep 1940  Oblt. Heinrich Driver
1 Oct 1940 - 20 Mar 1941  Oblt. Kurt Reichenbach-Klinke
21 Mar 1941 - 23 Sep 1941  Oblt. Ernst-Ulrich Brüller
24 Sep 1941 - 26 Mar 1942  Oblt. Ulrich Gräf
27 Mar 1942 - 19 Jun 1944  Kptlt. Rolf-Birger Wahlen
20 Jun 1944 - 10 Sep 1944  Oblt. Rudolf Arendt
Career16 patrols 1 Sep 1936 - 1 Aug 1939  1. Flottille (front boat)
1 Sep 1939 - 31 Dec 1939  1. Flottille (front boat)
1 Jan 1940 - 30 Jun 1940  1. Flottille (front boat)
1 Jul 1940 - 30 Sep 1942  21. Flottille (school boat)
1 Oct 1942 - 10 Sep 1944  30. Flottille (front boat)
Successes7 ships sunk for a total of 11,179 GRT
2 warships sunk for a total of 1,410 tons
1 auxiliary warship damaged for a total of 1,005 GRT
1 warship damaged for a total of 56 tons
3 ships a total loss for a total of 18,199 GRT
Fate

Scuttled at 2210hrs on 10 Sept, 1944 off the coast of Turkey in the Black Sea in position 41.11N, 30.00E.

See the 14 ships hit by U-23 - View the 16 war patrols

Attacks on this boat

14 Oct 1939
The British submarine HMS Sturgeon (Lt. G.D.A. Gregory, RN) fires three torpedoes against the German submarine U-23 in the Skagerrak some 20 nautical miles west-north-west of Skagen, Denmark in position 57º49'N, 09º59'E. All three torpedoes missed their target.

1 recorded attack on this boat.

General notes on this boat

7 Feb 2008.

7 Feb 2008
The 3 boats, U-19, U-20 and U-23, scuttled in September 1944 off the Turkish coast have been located. They are reported to be in excellent condition.

Men lost from U-boats

Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-23 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.


We have an emblem for this boat!

You can view it here. (The emblem on the left is not the emblem for this boat).



U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2
Wynn, Kenneth


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Books dealing with this subject include:

German U-Boat Losses During World War II. Niestle, Axel, 1998.
Hitler's U-boat War. Blair, Clay, 1996.
Hitler's U-boat War, Vol II. Blair, Clay, 1998.
Letzter Befehl: Versenken. Arendt, Rudolf, 1998.
Okrety plyna po ladzie. Piwowoñski, Jan, 1959.
U-Boat Adventures. Wiggins, Melanie, 1999.
U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 1. Wynn, Kenneth, 1998.
U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2. Wynn, Kenneth, 1998.


There was another U-23 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 12 Apr 1913 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 11 Sep 1913. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 23 during WWI.