Submarine class XXIII
|
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Type | Coastal submarine |
| units | 61 |
| delivery | June 27, 1944 - March 22, 1945 |
| period of service |
|
| Technical specifications | |
| The data apply to class XXIII | |
| displacement |
234 t surfaced |
| length |
34.7 m total |
| width |
3 m |
| Draft |
3.67 m |
| crew |
14 to 18 men |
| drive |
1 × six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engine MWM RS 34 S |
| speed |
10.0 kn above water, diesel |
| Range |
2600 nm (4818 km) at 8 kn, |
| Armament |
2 × 53.3 cm torpedo tubes, no reserve torpedoes |
The submarine class XXIII , officially called Type XXIII , was a German submarine type towards the end of the Second World War ; it was classified as a coastal submarine due to its small size. After the war, the German Federal Navy lifted two boats of this type and put them back into service as submarine class 240 .
history
Just like the much larger submarine class XXI , this type was an "electric submarine" and designed for great underwater driving performance. Due to its small size, the submarine could only carry two torpedoes , but it was easier to produce and was used before the end of the war.
A total of 61 boats of this type were completed, the first U 2321 on June 12, 1944 at Hamburg's Deutsche Werft AG . By the end of 1944, 31 boats had been delivered, all with defects and not ready for action. Six of them were still on patrol and sank five ships. Seven Type XXIII boats were lost in the war, all of them on training trips or in port. U 2322 came on May 4, 1945 south of North Foreland in one of U 245 (type VIIC ) by the sinking of two freighters triggered Wasserbombe persecution and was severely damaged, while U escaped 245th
The last successful sinking of the German submarine fleet was achieved by a boat of this type. It was U 2336 that under commandant Kapitänleutnant Emil Klusmeier attacked the Allied convoy EN 491 on May 7, 1945 shortly after 10:30 p.m. and the British merchant ship Avondale Park (2878 GRT ) and the Norwegian SS Sneland I (1791 BRT) each sunk by a torpedo.
planning
The relatively small size and armament of these submarines was significantly influenced by demands for transportability by rail and inland waterway to the Mediterranean . In contrast to the much larger submarine class XXIII, the submarine class XXIII had no flak armament , only a periscope , a smaller version of the group listening device balcony with 2 × 11 membrane receivers, no active sonar , no radar and only two seven meters long 53.3 cm torpedo tubes to be reloaded from the outside without reserve torpedoes . It had only one shell, but also an 8-shaped pressure body that deviated from the ideal circular shape in terms of typography . This created additional installation space for the enlarged battery system. Only the heavy electric torpedo T IIIa FAT 2 was intended to be used. The wren torpedo was not available for these boats.
During the Second World War , the Allies conquered the shipyards on the Mediterranean, for example those in Toulon, France ( 23 August 1944 ), in which rough sections had already been assembled. Therefore, the planned area of operation and the requirements for transportability changed. In addition, during a check of the boat's weight, it was found that the boat had become too heavy and no longer buoyant due to additional equipment required by the Navy . This error, which usually has serious consequences in submarine construction, could be compensated for without significant delays by inserting a 2.20 meter long intermediate piece (so-called "Oelfken" shot) due to the new type of sectional construction . With a further extension of 1.30 meters, two reserve torpedoes could have been taken and the bow space would have been suitable for the internal loading of the torpedoes. Since these changes would have led to further delays , they were rejected by the Shipbuilding Commission and the necessary external loading of the torpedo tubes with an iron frame and trimming of the boat remained. The construction costs of the shipyard in Finkenwerder were determined to be RM 761,721 per boat without firing.
Propulsion system
Snorkel facility
In contrast to the larger submarine class XXI, the snorkeling system in the small type XXIII was adequately dimensioned and the diesel engine was generously dimensioned without additional charging. The full diesel output was also achieved during the snorkeling trip, the suction negative pressure was only 38 mbar and the exhaust back pressure was 0.35 Atü . In addition, the snorkel and periscope remained vibration-free in all speed ranges.
The maximum snorkeling speed with diesel drive was higher than the maximum surface speed due to the lower flow resistance and reached 10.75 kn . The detection efficiency of the enemy radar could be reduced to about 30% by snorkeling compared to the surfaced boat. A special rubber-like cover for the snorkel head, camouflaged as "chimney sweep", made it possible to reduce the likelihood of being discovered by a further 10%.
The material of this coating, which was developed by Johannes Jaumann together with IG Farben in the spring of 1944, consisted of a sequence of conductive layers, the conductivity of which increases from the outside inwards to the metal wall of the snorkel. The individual layers are separated from one another by dielectric support layers with a very low dielectric constant . An impinging radar wave, the deeper it penetrates, the more and more it is absorbed by this skin. The amplitude of the wave becomes gradually weaker and slower. In the ideal case, the energy of the wave is completely converted into heat.
The radar waves are swallowed up like in a swamp - this is why this property was also referred to as a location swamp. Other terms are "electrical sump", conductance - or radar sump. A principle similar to that used for building up the coating works to suppress reflections in a wave sump .
A pressure-resistant dm antenna "Bali 1" was located on the snorkel head to warn of enemy radar location.
There was no warning system for higher-frequency centimeter radar location when snorkeling. In addition, the telescopic snorkel, which could be extended and retracted within 27 seconds with an air motor , was unreliable. The snorkel head had a float-operated snorkel head valve that should automatically close when flooded. The float-operated valves were not free from faults. Their function was dependent on the course of the boat in the direction of the sea and there was no remedy against icing. The compressed air motor was so loud when it was used that the snorkel was often not retracted during alarm diving from snorkeling to crawling . If the compressed air motor failed, manual operation was possible as a replacement.
During snorkeling the group listening device did not work due to its own diesel noise, but the boat itself could be obeyed at distances of up to 8000 meters. Therefore, snorkeling should be interrupted every 20 to 40 minutes to listen to the news.
Diesel engine
Due to the frictional losses of the 2.835: 1 between the speed of the diesel / main electric machine and the propeller gearbox and the shaft line, only about 95.5% of this motor power was fed to the propeller. The lowest speed with a diesel engine was 5 kn because of its soot limit .
Electric motors
In generator mode, the main electric machine was able to deliver a continuous current of 1280 A at 300 volts. When crawling with the main electric machine, the noise from the main machine gear was the dominant source of noise.
The maximum speed with the crawl speed drive reduced by 3: 1 V-belts was 4.8 kts, the maximum continuous crawl speed was about 4.3 kts, which could be maintained for about 30 hours with a fully charged battery. At a speed of 2.5 kn the underwater driving range was the largest with 215 nm = 398 km.
At almost all speeds attainable with the crawl drive, the boat was practically noiseless. At a diving depth of eleven meters and at a distance of 500 meters, the noise at a propeller speed of 120 min −1 was less than 26 dB. It must be taken into account that a different reference value (1 µPa ) is used for the dB unit for water- borne noise than for air-borne noise (20 µPa). A sound pressure level of 26 dB specified for water corresponds to a sound pressure level of 0 dB for air (roughly the human hearing threshold).
The U 2321 reached a depth of 20 meters with a maximum of 28 kW at the shaft 4.8 kn, twice as high a creep speed as that of the VIIC submarine class . At maximum crawl speed there were cavitation noises , which, however, could easily be avoided by a thickening of the edges on the propeller tips when the boat's top speed was reduced by 0.3 kn. It was decided to introduce this change to all Type XXIII boats.
Battery system
The battery system consisted of two lead-acid half-batteries with, for the first time, 31 double cells of the type 2 × 21 MAL 740 E / 23 in order to obtain the desired voltages of 240 and 120 volts with fewer battery cells . Each twin cell had a mass of 598 kg . At 30 ° C and 2176 A current , the battery had a capacity of 3264 Ah with 1.5 hours of discharge time, 4370 Ah with 874 A current and 5 hours discharge time, 5400 Ah with 270 A current and 20 hours discharge time and 5400 Ah with 116 A current and 50 hours discharge time 5800 Ah. The final discharge voltage was between 1.63 volts / single cell at 2176 A discharge current and 1.80 volts / single cell at 116 A discharge current. With an average discharge voltage of 2.0 volts per cell, the arithmetical total storage capacity is around 1.3 megawatt hours . The intended battery voltage of 240 volts (= 1.94 volts / single cell) at 1960 A power consumption of the electric machine was achieved in on-board operation.
Battery charging began in the first charging stage with 980 A current up to 2.4 volts per cell (= 149 volts per half-battery). In the second charging stage, the current slowly sank to 245 A at a constant 2.4 volts per cell. In the third charging stage, a current of up to 2.7 volts per cell was charged at a constant 245 A. A quick charge with double the initial amperage was not possible because the e-machine could not deliver this current and the ventilation was not sufficiently dimensioned. The full charging time after a previous discharge of 3 hours with 1312 A = 3936 Ah was 6.75 hours, of which 3.6 hours for the first charging stage and 1.2 hours for the second charging stage. The third charging stage was only recommended once a week to maintain capacity.
The battery cells separate out oxyhydrogen , an explosive mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, when they are charged, when they are heavily discharged and in small quantities even when the vehicle is stationary . The overcharge of each Ah decomposes water through electrolysis into 0.42 liters of hydrogen and 0.21 liters of oxygen per cell. With 124 cells and the constant current charge of 245 A used for the third charging stage, up to 19 m³ of oxyhydrogen (12.7 m³ hydrogen and 6.3 m³ oxygen) per hour are released in the ideal mixing ratio for an explosion. In air, hydrogen becomes explosive from a content of four percent by volume.
When charging, the ventilation should be set in such a way that 59 liters of oxyhydrogen gas mixture was sucked out of each battery cell per minute, which corresponds to a twenty-fold dilution of the amount of oxyhydrogen gas possible with a charging current of 245 A.
Maneuverability
The dive time on the move was only 14 seconds. The turning circle was small when diving and was 150 meters, almost independent of the speed. When sailing above water it was between 250 and 280 meters.
The MG above water stability was 0.193 meters, the FG underwater stability 0.329 meters. The trim of these relatively small boats was so delicate underwater that when a torpedo was launched they tended to break through the surface of the water. On September 11, 1944, U 2324 got out of control during a disruption exercise in the engine room and, although the machine personnel reacted immediately and correctly, rammed the sandy seabed at a depth of 106 meters.
Since the diving cells flooded a little over water without flood flaps when the sea was rough, it was necessary to inflate them with compressed air from time to time and to constantly check the trim of the boat. The low reserve displacement of 10.5% caused the boat to sink away extremely quickly in the event of water ingress, as shown by accidents with the "U Hai" (ex. U 2365 ) and "U Hecht" (ex. U 2367 ) lifted after the war . U 2331 sank off Hela on October 10, 1944 with the entire crew. After it was lifted, it was reconstructed that it had driven backwards over water before the accident. In the following tests it turned out that there was a risk of unintentional undercutting with pre-flooded immersion cells. This must have happened so suddenly with U 2331 that only the commander and three members of the bridge watch could be saved.
Diving depth
The XXIII draft should have a construction diving depth of 100 meters (2.5 times safety), a test diving depth of 150 meters and a destruction depth of 250 meters. The pressure body panels of mild steel St 52 KM had a thickness of 9.5 mm to 11.5 mm and were by 140 × 7 mm Flachwulst - Innenspanten stiffened mm in the distance of 450 to 550th The easily weldable St 52 carbon steel used in German submarine construction until the end of the war has a yield point of 360 N / mm² and a strength of 520 N / mm².
The frames and outer skin were made of St 42 KM. The pressure hull consisted of two juxtaposed cylinder shells with an upper diameter of 3.00 meters and a lower diameter of 2.80 meters in the area of the battery cells fore and amidships. The total length of the pressure hull, excluding the bulges at the end floors, was 22.5 meters. All diving cells and fuel oil bunkers were located in the non-pressure-resistant outer ship.
From April 1944, an increase in the carbon (C) and silicon (Si) content of steel St 52 was ordered in iron production in order to save manganese. After this arrangement became known in August 1944, cracks were expected to form during welding with a three-month delay . The order was therefore immediately lifted. Since the changeover required another three months, it could not take effect until spring 1945 at the earliest. On October 2nd, Vice-Admiral Friedrich Ruge noted in his diary "Bad welding of the Type XXIII boats" after a tour of the Germania shipyard.
The stress on the pressure hull during diving was calculated in the IBG by the engineers Schubert, Kuhlmann and Wüpper, depending on the section, based on an experience factor of 0.8 with buckling pressures between 25.6 and 28.8 kg / cm² and a corresponding report on December 6, 1944 has been submitted. However, as with the submarine class XXI, the calculation bases for the new two-circle shape of the pressure hull were uncertain. The calculations were obviously carried out for circular pressure hull shells. The additional stresses caused by the two-circuit construction of the pressure hull could only be determined with approximation formulas. A deep dive test should confirm these values.
On January 24, 1945, U 2324 carried out a deep dive test off Norway with a measuring team with dial gauges , expansion recorders and tension wires on board. However, due to the fully loaded boat, it was not possible to accommodate all of the measuring devices provided . The original plan was to go to a depth of 200 meters. Clicking noises were heard at irregular intervals at 150 meters. Since the cause was not clear, the LI held the boat at this depth. A compressive stress of 7.35 kg / mm³ was measured between frames 24.2 and 24.6. Although the readings did not reveal any deviations from the calculated values, the commander refused to go deeper and let them appear. In the final report it was stated that the pressure hull had sufficient strength, that the cross-sectional deformations were relatively small and that no major plastic deformations, which indicate overstressing , had occurred.
After the war, however, U 2326 was lost with its French crew on December 6, 1946 during a deep dive attempt at a depth of 165 meters. Subsequent calculations of the strength resulted in a maximum safe diving depth of 150 meters and a destruction depth of 160 meters. Due to precise calculations carried out in the Lübeck engineering office, the service immersion depth for the "U Hai" (ex. U 2365 ) and "U Hecht" (ex. U 2367 ) raised after the war was reduced to 65 meters and the construction immersion depth to 80 meters.
Dive duration
The air volume of the boat was about 130 m³ . With a 14-man crew, the CO 2 content of breath - air rose to 1.5% after 4.5 hours. The boat therefore had a supply of 400 containers with quick lime for an air purification system, which were used from 1.5% CO 2 content and limited the CO 2 content to 1.5% for five hours each (a total of 83 days) .
The supply of 200 liters of oxygen in bottles at 150 atmospheres pressure lasted for around 70 hours (three days) with a crew of 14. The oxygen should be added when the oxygen content of the air has decreased from 21% to below 17.5%.
Units and whereabouts
- Navy
In 1944 and 1945 65 Type XXIII submarines were completed by Deutsche Werft AG in Hamburg and Germaniawerft in Kiel . Of these, 60 boats were put into service with the Navy before the end of the war . In the course of the last months of the war, two boats were lost at sea in air raids. Another two boats were destroyed by bomb hits during air raids on ports. Four boats sank as a result of accidents or mine damage, two of which were lifted and repaired during the war. Shortly before the end of the war, the majority of the submarines in German waters were sunk by their own crews off the Baltic coast on the orders of Grand Admiral Dönitz ( rainbow order ). All wrecks - with the exception of the two boats later lifted for the German Navy - were demolished in the early post-war years; the boats in German and Norwegian waters that were still intact at the end of the war - with the exception of U 4706 - were delivered to Great Britain and collected in Loch Ryan and Lisahally (today Londonderry Port ). With the exception of a few specimens taken over by the Royal Navy for testing purposes and some later given to allied navies, these boats were destroyed as part of Operation Deadlight . No Type XXIII submarine has survived as a museum specimen.
| Surname | Shipyard | Keel laying | Launch | Commissioning | unit | Decommissioning | Comments / whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U 2321 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | March 10, 1944 | April 17, 1944 | June 12, 1944 | 4th U-Flotilla, 32nd U-Flotilla, 11th U-Flotilla | ? | sunk 56 ° 10´N 10 ° 05´W
by gunfire from HMS Onslow and ORP Błyskawica on November 27, 1945 in the course of Operation Deadlight  |
| U 2322 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | March 22, 1944 | April 30, 1944 | July 1, 1944 | 4th U-Flotilla, 32nd U-Flotilla, 11th U-Flotilla | ? | sunk 56 ° 10´N 10 ° 05´W by gunfire from HMS Onslow and ORP Błyskawica
on November 27, 1945 in the course of Operation Deadlight |
| U 2323 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | April 11, 1944 | May 31, 1944 | July 18, 1944 | 4th submarine flotilla | ? | scrapped in Kiel |
| U 2324 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | April 21, 1944 | June 16, 1944 | July 25, 1944 | 4th U-Flotilla, 32nd U-Flotilla, 11th U-Flotilla | ? | sunk 56 ° 10´N 10 ° 05´W by gunfire from HMS Onslow and ORP Błyskawica
on November 27, 1945 in the course of Operation Deadlight |
| U 2325 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | April 29, 1944 | July 13, 1944 | August 3, 1944 | 4th U-Flotilla, 32nd U-Flotilla, 11th U-Flotilla | ? | sunk 56 ° 10´N 10 ° 05´W
by gunfire from HMS Onslaught and ORP Piorun on November 28, 1945 in the course of Operation Deadlight |
| U 2326 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | May 8, 1944 | July 17, 1944 | August 11, 1944 | 4th U-Flotilla, 32nd U-Flotilla, 11th U-Flotilla | ? | Surrender and arrival in Dundee on May 14, 1945, see N 35
 |
| U 2327 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | May 16, 1944 | July 27, 1944 | August 19, 1944 | 32nd submarine flotilla | ? | Self-sunk on May 3, 1945 in the submarine bunker FINK II in Hamburg, wreck broken off |
| U 2328 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | May 19, 1944 | August 17, 1944 | August 25, 1944 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 11th U-Flotilla | ? | on November 27, 1945 during Operation Deadlight before being sunk by water ingress, sank 55 ° 12´N 09 ° 48´W |
| U 2329 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | June 2, 1944 | August 11, 1944 | September 1, 1944 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 11th U-Flotilla | ? | sunk 56 ° 10´N 10 ° 05´W by gunfire from HMS Onslaught and ORP Piorun
on November 28, 1945 in the course of Operation Deadlight |
| U 2330 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | June 12, 1944 | August 18, 1944 | September 7, 1944 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 11th U-Flotilla | ? | Sunk in Kiel, wreck broken off |
| U 2331 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | June 30, 1944 | August 22, 1944 | September 12, 1944 | 32nd submarine flotilla | ? | Sunk in Kiel, wreck broken off |
| U 2332 | Germania shipyard, Kiel | September 20, 1944 | October 18, 1944 | November 13, 1944 | 5th submarine flotilla | ? | Self-sunk on May 3, 1945 in the submarine bunker FINK II in Hamburg, wreck broken off |
| U 2333 | Germania shipyard, Kiel | September 27, 1944 | November 16, 1944 | December 18, 1944 | 5th submarine flotilla | ? | self- sunk in the Geltinger Bucht on May 5, 1945 , wreck broken off |
| U 2334 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | July 17, 1944 | August 26, 1944 | September 21, 1944 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 11th U-Flotilla | ? | sunk 56 ° 10´N 10 ° 05´W by gunfire from HMS Onslaught and ORP Piorun
on November 28, 1945 in the course of Operation Deadlight |
| U 2335 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | July 20, 1944 | August 31, 1944 | September 27, 1944 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 11th U-Flotilla | ? | sunk 56 ° 10´N 10 ° 05´W by gunfire from HMS Onslaught and ORP Piorun
on November 28, 1945 in the course of Operation Deadlight |
| U 2336 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | July 27, 1944 | September 10, 1944 | September 30, 1944 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | May 15, 1945 | sunk by gunfire from HMS Offa on January 3, 1946 in the course of Operation Deadlight at 56 ° 06´N 09 ° 00´W
|
| U 2337 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | August 2, 1944 | September 15, 1944 | October 4, 1944 | 32nd submarine flotilla | ? | sunk 56 ° 10´N 10 ° 05´W by gunfire from HMS Onslaught and ORP Piorun
on November 28, 1945 in the course of Operation Deadlight |
| U 2338 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | August 10, 1944 | September 18, 1944 | October 9, 1944 | 32nd submarine flotilla | ? | Sunk by an airplane off Fredericia on May 4, 1945 , wreck broken off |
| U 2339 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | August 15, 1944 | September 22, 1944 | November 16, 1944 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 8th U-Flotilla, 4th Flotilla | ? | self-sunk in the Geltinger Bucht on May 5, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 2340 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | August 18, 1944 | September 28, 1944 | October 16, 1944 | 32nd submarine flotilla | ? | Sunk by Deutsche Werft AG on March 30, 1945 during an air raid on Hamburg |
| U 2341 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | August 23, 1944 | October 3, 1944 | October 21, 1944 | 32nd submarine flotilla | ? | sunk on December 31, 1945 in the course of Operation Deadlight by gunfire from HMS Onslaught and ORP Błyskawica 55 ° 44´N 08 ° 19´W
|
| U 2342 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | August 29, 1944 | October 13, 1944 | November 1, 1944 | 32nd submarine flotilla | ? | ran into mine before Swinoujscie and sank |
| U 2343 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | August 31, 1944 | October 18, 1944 | November 6, 1944 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | self-sunk in the Geltinger Bucht on May 5, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 2344 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | September 4, 1944 | October 24, 1944 | November 10, 1944 | 32nd submarine flotilla | ? | Collided with U 2336 on February 18, 1945 off Heiligendamm and sank, lifted in June 1956 and scrapped in Rostock in 1958 |
| U 2345 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | September 7, 1944 | October 28, 1944 | November 15, 1944 | 32nd submarine flotilla | ? | sunk 56 ° 10´N 10 ° 05´W by an explosive charge on November 27, 1945 in the course of Operation Deadlight |
| U 2346 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | September 14, 1944 | October 31, 1944 | November 20, 1944 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | self-sunk in the Geltinger Bucht on May 5, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 2347 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | September 19, 1944 | October 6, 1944 | December 2, 1944 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | self-sunk in the Geltinger Bucht on May 5, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 2348 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | September 22, 1944 | November 11, 1944 | 4th December 1944 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | see N 21
|
| U 2349 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | September 25, 1944 | November 20, 1944 | December 11, 1944 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | self-sunk in the Geltinger Bucht on May 5, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 2350 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | September 28, 1944 | November 22, 1944 | December 23, 1944 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | sunk 56 ° 10´N 10 ° 05´W by gunfire from HMS Onslaught and ORP Piorun
on November 28, 1945 in the course of Operation Deadlight |
| U 2351 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | October 3, 1944 | November 25, 1944 | December 30, 1944 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | sunk by gunfire from HMS Offa on January 3, 1946 in the course of Operation Deadlight at 55 ° 50´N 08 ° 20´W
|
| U 2352 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | October 9, 1944 | December 5, 1944 | January 11, 1945 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | Sunk in the Höruper Haff on May 5, 1945 , wreck broken off |
| U 2353 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | October 10, 1944 | December 6, 1944 | January 9, 1945 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | see N 31
|
| U 2354 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | October 14, 1944 | December 10, 1944 | January 11, 1945 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | sunk by gunfire from HMS Onslow on December 22, 1945 in the course of Operation Deadlight at 56 ° 00´N 10 ° 05´W
|
| U 2355 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | October 18, 1944 | December 13, 1944 | January 12, 1945 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | Sunk on May 3, 1945 in front of Laboe , wreck broken off |
| U 2356 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | October 21, 1944 | December 19, 1944 | January 12, 1945 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | sunk by gunfire from HMS Onslaught on January 6, 1946 in the course of Operation Deadlight at 55 ° 50´N 08 ° 20´W
|
| U 2357 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | October 27, 1944 | December 20, 1944 | January 13, 1945 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | self-sunk in the Geltinger Bucht on May 5, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 2358 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | November 1, 1944 | December 22, 1944 | January 16, 1945 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | self-sunk in the Geltinger Bucht on May 5, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 2359 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | November 3, 1944 | December 23, 1944 | January 16, 1945 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | Sunk by an airplane in the Kattegat on May 2, 1945 |
| U 2360 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | November 7, 1944 | December 29, 1944 | January 23, 1945 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | Tower with modified, inwardly curved bridge bulwarks, self-sunk on May 5, 1945 in the Geltinger Bay, wreck broken off |
| U 2361 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | November 12, 1944 | January 3, 1945 | February 3, 1945 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | sunk 56 ° 10´N 10 ° 05´W by gunfire from HMS Onslow and ORP Błyskawica
on November 27, 1945 in the course of Operation Deadlight |
| U 2362 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | November 22, 1944 | January 11, 1945 | February 5, 1945 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | self-sunk in the Geltinger Bucht on May 5, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 2363 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | November 22, 1944 | January 18, 1945 | February 5, 1945 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | sunk 56 ° 10´N 10 ° 05´W by gunfire from HMS Onslaught and ORP Piorun
on November 28, 1945 in the course of Operation Deadlight |
| U 2364 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | November 27, 1944 | January 23, 1945 | February 14, 1945 | 32nd U-Flotilla, 4th U-Flotilla | ? | self-sunk in the Geltinger Bucht on May 5, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 2365 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | December 6, 1944 | January 26, 1945 | March 2, 1945 | 4th submarine flotilla | ? | sunk in the Kattegat on May 8, 1945, wreck lifted in 1956 see U Hai
 |
| U 2366 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | December 6, 1944 | February 17, 1945 | March 10, 1945 | 4th submarine flotilla | ? | self-sunk in the Geltinger Bucht on May 5, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 2367 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | December 11, 1944 | February 23, 1945 | March 17, 1945 | 4th submarine flotilla | ? | Sunk on May 9, 1945 in front of Schleimünde , wreck lifted in 1956 see U Hecht
|
| U 2368 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | December 15, 1944 | March 19, 1945 | April 11, 1945 | 4th submarine flotilla | ? | self-sunk in the Geltinger Bucht on May 5, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 2369 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | December 20, 1944 | March 24, 1945 | April 18, 1945 | 4th submarine flotilla | ? | self-sunk in the Geltinger Bucht on May 5, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 2370 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | December 20, 1944 | April 1945 | not happened | - | - | Self-sunk on May 3, 1945 in the submarine bunker FINK II in Hamburg, wreck broken off |
| U 2371 | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg | January 19, 1945 | April 18, 1945 | not happened | - | - | Self-sunk on May 3, 1945 in the submarine bunker FINK II in Hamburg, wreck broken off |
| U 4701 | Germania shipyard, Kiel | October 19, 1944 | December 14, 1944 | January 10, 1945 | 5th submarine flotilla | ? | Sunk in the Höruper Haff on May 5, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 4702 | Germania shipyard, Kiel | October 28, 1944 | December 20, 1944 | January 12, 1945 | 5th submarine flotilla | ? | self-sunk in the Geltinger Bucht on May 5, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 4703 | Germania shipyard, Kiel | November 1, 1944 | January 3, 1945 | January 21, 1945 | 5th submarine flotilla | ? | self-sunk in the Geltinger Bucht on May 5, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 4704 | Germania shipyard, Kiel | November 9, 1944 | February 13, 1945 | March 14, 1945 | 5th submarine flotilla | ? | Sunk in the Höruper Haff on May 5, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 4705 | Germania shipyard, Kiel | November 10, 1944 | January 11, 1945 | February 2, 1945 | 5th submarine flotilla | ? | Sunk in Kiel on May 3, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 4706 | Germania shipyard, Kiel | November 14, 1944 | January 19, 1945 | February 7, 1945 | 5th submarine flotilla | ? | Unfit to drive at the end of the war in Kristiansand , British spoils of war, taken over by Norway in October 1948 , see KNM Knerten
 |
| U 4707 | Germania shipyard, Kiel | December 5, 1944 | January 25, 1945 | February 20, 1945 | 5th submarine flotilla | ? | self-sunk in the Geltinger Bucht on May 5, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 4708 | Germania shipyard, Kiel | December 1, 1944 | March 24, 1945 | not happened | - | - | sunk in the Kilian submarine bunker on April 9, 1945 during an air raid on Kiel |
| U 4709 | Germania shipyard, Kiel | December 1944 | February 8, 1945 | March 3, 1945 | 5th submarine flotilla | ? | Self-sunk on May 3, 1945 in the floating dock of the Germania shipyard in Kiel, wreck broken off |
| U 4710 | Germania shipyard, Kiel | January 1945 | April 14, 1945 | May 1, 1945 | 5th submarine flotilla | ? | self-sunk in the Geltinger Bucht on May 5, 1945, wreck broken off |
| U 4711 | Germania shipyard, Kiel | January 1945 | February 21, 1945 | March 12, 1945 | 5th submarine flotilla | ? | Self-sunk on May 3, 1945 in the floating dock of the Germania shipyard in Kiel, wreck broken off |
| U 4712 | Germania shipyard, Kiel | January 3, 1945 | March 1, 1945 | April 3, 1945 | 5th submarine flotilla | ? | Self-sunk on May 3, 1945 in the floating dock of the Germania shipyard in Kiel, wreck broken off |
| U 4713 | Germania shipyard, Kiel | February 1945 | April 19, 1945 | not happened | - | - | Self-sunk on May 3, 1945 in the floating dock of the Germania shipyard in Kiel, wreck broken off |
| U 4714 | Germania shipyard, Kiel | February 1945 | April 26, 1945 | not happened | - | - | Self-sunk on May 3, 1945 in the floating dock of the Germania shipyard in Kiel, wreck broken off |
- Royal Navy
Some of the Type XXIII submarines delivered to Great Britain after the end of the war were not destroyed in Operation Deadlight , but selected by the Royal Navy for testing purposes. After a short time, these boats were given to allied navies or scrapped.
| Surname | Formerly | Commissioning | unit | Decommissioning | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N 21 |
.svg){kind=small} U 2348
|
? | ? | ? | scrapped in April 1949 |
| N 31 |
U 2353
|
? | ? | ? | see Soviet Union н 31
.svg){kind=small} |
| N 35 |
U 2326
|
? | ? | ? | see France U 2326
 |
- Marine nationale française
The French Navy took over - in addition to the Type XXI boat U 2518 - with U 2326 in February 1946 also a Type XXIII boat from Great Britain . After overhaul work in the Cherbourg shipyards (April 1946) and Lorient , the boat was moved to Toulon . It was lost off the local coast on December 5, 1946 due to a diving accident. There were no survivors. Warships sunk with crew are considered sea graves in France and are generally not dug.
| Surname | Formerly | Commissioning | unit | Decommissioning | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U 2326 |
N 35, U 2326
|
? | ? | - | on 5 or 6 December 1946 with the entire crew from Toulon dropped |
- Soviet Navy
Due to the flight of the German submarines to the west, the advance of the western allies and finally the way in which the occupation zones were divided, the submarines of type XXIII and their production facilities were withdrawn from the Red Army . Consequently, the Soviet Union could only acquire possession of a Type XXIII submarine by demanding participation in the British spoils of war. The Royal Navy finally handed over the N 31 (formerly U 2353) to the Soviet Navy . N 31 moved to Libau on November 23, 1945 under the Soviet flag . The British name was retained, but was written in Cyrillic as н 31. With the scrapping of the boat in 1963, the last Type XXIII unit outside Germany ceased to exist.
| Surname | Formerly | Commissioning | unit | Decommissioning | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-31, ex н 31 |
N 31, U 2353
|
January 1946 | Baltic fleet | 1952 | Scrapped in 1963 |
- Kongelige Norske Marine (Sjøforsvaret)
The U 4706, which was inoperable to drive in Kristiansand at the end of the war , was first handed over to British war booty in May 1945 and finally to the Norwegian Navy in October 1948 , which already had three German Type VII C submarines . At this point in time, U 4706 was the last intact submarine of the XXIII type built at the Germania shipyard in Kiel . Due to a fire, the intended commissioning of U 4706 as KNM Knerten was no longer possible. Instead, the Hulk was first handed over to the Kongelig Norsk Seilforening (KNS) on April 14, 1950 and finally scrapped in 1954. This means that U 4701 was scrapped only a few years too early to be eligible for repairs and commissioning in the German Navy through a buyback .
- Federal Navy
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The submarines U 2365 and U 2367 were lifted in the 1950s and taken over into the German Navy . U 2365 was named "U Hai", U 2367 was named "U Hecht". Both boats were overtaken by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in Kiel after the salvage . They also received a modified bug version in order to be able to record a sonar from Atlas (attack sonar M1) and the listening and radio technology was modernized.
On September 14, 1966, the largest accident to date for the West German submarine fleet occurred when “U Hai” sank off Heligoland . Of the 20 officers and sailors on board, only the cook (Smut) Obermaat Peter Silbernagel (1943-2013) survived . The boat was lifted five days later, decommissioned on September 24, 1966 and scrapped.
The submarine "U Hecht" was decommissioned on September 30, 1968 and also scrapped.
| Identifier | Surname | Formerly | Commissioning | unit | Decommissioning | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S170 | U Hai |
U 2365
|
August 15, 1957 | Submarine teaching group in Neustadt | September 24th
1966 |
Sunk with the crew on September 14, 1966 (19 dead, 1 survivor), lifted on September 19, 1966 and then scrapped |
| S171 | U pike |
U 2367
|
October 1, 1957 | Submarine teaching group in Neustadt | September 30, 1968 | scrapped |
- People's Navy
.svg){kind=small}
In the GDR , too, in the 1950s the idea of re-establishing a submarine weapon was considered. However, this intention was dropped - not least because of the events of June 17, 1953 - and former submarine drivers who were already concentrated in a unit in Sassnitz were reassigned to other units. The uplift of U 2344 (three survivors), which sank off Heiligendamm on February 18, 1945 as a result of a collision with U 2336 (three survivors) in June 1956 was actually too late for that. The boat was brought into a floating dock at the Neptun shipyard in Rostock and examined. A repair and commissioning did not take place. It was also no longer intended to be used as an unarmed underwater target ship for the anti-submarine units of the People's Navy . The boat was finally scrapped in Rostock in 1958.
Technical specifications
- Displacement: 234 t surfaced, 258 t submerged
- Length: 34.7 m total, 26 m pressure hull
- Width: 3 m
- Draft: 3.67 m
- Height: 7.7 m
- Power: 1 × six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engine MWM RS 34 S with 576 PS / 424 kW driving above the water, electric machine GU 4463/8 580 PS / 427 kW driving under water
- Top speed: 10.0 knots above water, 10.75 kn snorkel, 12.5 kn submerged, 4.5 kn creep speed
- Range over water: 2600 nm (4815 km) at 8 kn, 4450 nm (8241 km) at 6 kn, 5250 nm (9723 km) at 5 kn
- Range with snorkel: 2350 nm (4352 km) at 8 kn, 3100 nm (5741 km) at 6 kn
- Submerged range: 21 nm (39 km) at 12 kn, 35 nm (65 km) at 10 kn, 62 nm (115 km) at 8 kn, 110 nm (204 km) at 6 kn, 194 nm (356 km) at 4 kn
- Torpedoes: 2 torpedo tubes, no reserve torpedoes
- Crew: 14 to 18 men
- Maximum diving depth: 150 m
After conversion / class 240
- Displacement: 275 t
- Length: 36.12 m
- Width: 3 m
- Draft: 3.67 m
- Height: 7.7 m
- Power: 1 × six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engine Maybach MB 820 S1 with 630 PS / 470 kW overwater travel, electric machine GU 4463/8 580 PS / 433 kW submerged
- Top speed: 9.7 knots above water, 12.5 kn submerged
- Range: 2600 nm (4818 km) at 8 kn above water travel, 194 nm (359 km) at 4 kn submerged
- Torpedoes: 2 torpedo tubes, no reserve torpedoes
- Crew: 14 to 18 men
- Maximum diving depth: 180 m
See also
literature
- Eberhard Rössler : History of the German submarine building Volume 2. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, ISBN 3-86047-153-8 .
- Eberhard Rössler: submarine type XXIII. 2nd expanded edition, Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn 2002, ISBN 3-7637-6236-1 .
- Clay Blair : Submarine War. US title: Hitler's U-Boat War. BECHTERMÜNZ Verlag, ISBN 3-8289-0512-9 .
- Ulrich Gabler: Submarine construction. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Koblenz 1987, ISBN 3-7637-5286-2 .
Web links
- Overview of the Type XXIII with data, statistics and pictures ( Memento from February 29, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- SPIEGEL interview with frigate captain a. D. Reinhard Suhren on the sinking of the submarine "Hai"
- The submarine Hai, website of former crew members
Footnotes
- ↑ Kühnhold, ways of electrical camouflage, p.15 PDF, 1MB
- ↑ freepatentsonline.com: German Patent DE4121584. Retrieved August 3, 2019 .
- ↑ Internet source on the ventilation of the battery charging rooms for traction batteries , accessed on April 10, 2011
- ^ Blair, Clay: Submarine War . US title Hitler's U-Boat War. Ed .: Licensed edition for Verlagsgruppe Weltbild GmbH, Augsburg. 2004th edition. Bechtermünz, 2004, ISBN 3-8289-0512-9 (two volumes, divided into three books, chapter NINE, section Argonaut).
- ↑ Eberhard Rössler: History of the German submarine building Volume 2 . Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-86047-153-8 (Chapter 11.13 Testing of the submarine type XXIII, 11.131 Pressure hull strength and immersion depth).
- ↑ Internet source on the loss of U 2326 (Type XXIII) due to failure of the pressure hull (French) , accessed November 4, 2010
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dn do dp dq dr ds dt du dv dw dx dy dz ea eb ec ed ee ef eg eh ei ej ek el em en eo ep eq er es et eu ev ew ex ey ez fa fb fc fd fe ff fg fh fi fj fk fl fm fn fo fp fq fr fs ft fu fv fw fx fy fz ga gb gc gd ge gf gg gh gi gj gk gl gm gn go gp gq gr gs gt gu gv gw gx gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv hw hx hy hz ia ib ic id ie if ig ih ii ij ik il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf jg jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr js jt ju jv jw jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk kl km kn ko kp kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky kz la lb lc ld le lf lg lh li lj lk ll lm ln lo lp lq lr ls lt lu lv lw lx ly lz ma mb mc m d me Eberhard Rössler: submarine type XXIII. 2nd expanded edition, Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn 2002, ISBN 3-7637-6236-1 , pp. 197-199.
- ↑ Eberhard Rössler: U-boat type XXIII. 2nd expanded edition, Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn 2002, ISBN 3-7637-6236-1 , p. 112
- ↑ Eberhard Rössler: History of the German submarine building. Volume 2, Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn 1996, ISBN 3-86047-153-8 , p. 368.
- ↑ a b Eberhard Rössler: U-boat type XXIII. 2nd expanded edition, Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn 2002, ISBN 3-7637-6236-1 , p. 115.
- ↑ Eberhard Rössler: U-boat type XXIII. 2nd expanded edition, Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn 2002, ISBN 3-7637-6236-1 , p. 116.
- ↑ Oli: TR 66 ›Introduction ( Memento of March 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), Taucher Dot Net, accessed December 17, 2008
- ^ K. Schmeink: About U-Hai ( memento from September 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), Das Unterseeboot Hai, accessed December 17, 2008
- ↑ a b c Hannes Ewerth: The U-Flotilla of the German Navy. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg 1995, p. 88.
- ↑ Eberhard Rössler: U-boat type XXIII. 2nd expanded edition, Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn 2002, ISBN 3-7637-6236-1 , p. 89.