U 23 (Navy)

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U 23 (Kriegsmarine)
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Type : II B
Field Post Number : M 01 984
Shipyard: Germania shipyard , Kiel
Construction contract: February 2, 1935
Build number: 553
Keel laying: April 11, 1936
Launch: August 28, 1936
Commissioning: September 24, 1936
Commanders:
  • October 1, 1937 - April 1, 1940
    Lieutenant Captain Otto Kretschmer
  • April 2, 1940 - May 19, 1940
    Lieutenant Heinz Beduhn
  • May 20, 1940 - September 30, 1940
    First Lieutenant Heinrich Driver
  • October 1, 1940 - March 20, 1941
    First Lieutenant Kurt Reichenbach-Klinke
  • March 21, 1941 - September 23, 1941
    Oberleutnant zur See Ernst-Ulrich Brüller
  • September 24, 1941 - March 26, 1942
    Oberleutnant zur See Ulrich Graef
  • March 27, 1942 - June 19, 1944
    Lieutenant Rolf-Birger Wahlen
  • June 20, 1944 - September 10, 1944
    Oberleutnant zur See Rudolf Arendt
Calls: 16 ventures
Sinkings:
  • 10 ships (32,401 GRT ) + 2 ships damaged (2,855 GRT)
  • 3 warships (1,466 t)
Whereabouts: self-sunk on September 10, 1944

U 23 was a German submarine of type II B , which in the Second World War by the Navy was used.

history

The order for the boat was awarded to the Germania shipyard in Kiel on February 2, 1935 . The keel was laid on April 11, 1936, the launch on August 28, 1936, the commissioning under frigate captain Erwin Sachs on September 24, 1936.

After commissioning, U 23 belonged to the U-Flotilla "Weddigen" in Kiel as a reserve or combat boat until December 31, 1939 . When the U-Flotilla was reorganized, the boat was assigned to the 1st U-Flotilla in Kiel on January 1, 1940 . After being used as a front boat, U 23 became a school boat for the 21st U-Flotilla in Pillau from July 1, 1940 to October 1, 1942 .

In October 1942 the boat was transferred from Pillau to Kiel for decommissioning and then dismantled and transported via inland waterways (Kiel Canal, Elbe and Danube) and land routes to Romania on the Black Sea . U 23 was put into service there on June 3, 1943 as the last of the six submarines transferred to the Black Sea and transferred to the 30th sub flotilla in Constanța . U 23 drove seven enemy missions in the Black Sea.

U 23 completed a total of sixteen operations on which nine ships with a total tonnage of 12,589  GRT were sunk and two ships with a total tonnage of 7,801 GRT were damaged. Three more with 18,199 GRT were classified as total losses.

Use statistics

First venture

The boat left Wilhelmshaven on August 25, 1939 at 3:50 a.m. and returned there on September 4, 1939 at 6:00 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this eleven day expedition off the Dutch coast.

Second venture

The boat left Wilhelmshaven on September 9, 1939 at 11:30 a.m. and entered Kiel on September 21, 1939 at 9:15 a.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this twelve-day expedition in the North Sea.

Third company

The boat left Wilhelmshaven on October 1, 1939 at 1 p.m. and entered Kiel on October 16, 1939 at 7.45 a.m. On this 17-day expedition into the North Sea, a ship with 876 GRT was sunk. The British submarine HMS Sturgeon fired three torpedoes at U 23 in October 1939 , but without hitting them.

Fourth venture

The boat left Kiel on November 1, 1939 at 1:30 a.m. and returned there on November 9, 1939 at 5:25 a.m. On this nine-day mining operation in the Cormarty Firth, nine mines were laid, but no ship was sunk.

Fifth venture

The boat left Kiel on December 5, 1939 at 10:00 p.m. and returned there on December 15, 1939 at 7:35 a.m. On this ten-day and approximately 1,340  nm long undertaking in the North Sea and on the British east coast, a ship with 2,400 GRT was sunk.

  • December 7, 1939: Sinking of the Danish steamer Scotia (2,400 GRT) ( location ) by a G7e torpedo. He drove in ballast and was en route from Denmark to Great Britain.

Sixth venture

The boat left Kiel on January 8, 1940 at 11:57 p.m. and entered Wilhelmshaven on January 15, 1940 at 2:30 p.m. On this seven-day and approximately 1,250 nm long undertaking off the Scottish east coast, two ships with 11,667 GRT were sunk.

  • January 11, 1940: Sinking of the Norwegian steamer Fredville (1,150 GRT) ( location ) by a G7e torpedo. He drove in ballast and was on the way from Drammen to Methil. There were ten dead and five survivors.
  • January 11, 1940: Sinking of the Danish tanker Danmark (10,517 GRT) ( location ) by a G7e torpedo. He had 8,200 tons of  petrol and 5,760 tons of diesel oil on board  and was on his way from Aruba to Nyborg . There were no dead. The forecastle was later raised and used as a tank farm.

Seventh venture

The boat left Wilhelmshaven on January 18, 1940 at 3:55 p.m. and returned there on January 29, 1940 at 8:45 p.m. A ship with 1,085 GRT was sunk on this twelve-day and approximately 1,400 nm long undertaking on the British east coast.

  • January 24, 1940: The Norwegian steamer Varild (1,085 GRT) is sunk by a G7e torpedo. He had an unknown cargo on board and was en route to Great Britain. It was a total loss with 15 dead.

Eighth venture

The British destroyer HMS Daring (pre-WWII)

The boat ran from Wilhelmshaven on February 9, 1940 at 8:25 a.m. under the command of Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer and entered Kiel on February 28, 1940 at 7:00 p.m. During this 20-day operation in the North Sea and the Shetland Islands , three ships with 11,596 GRT and a destroyer with 1,375 t were sunk.

  • February 18, 1940: Sinking of the British destroyer HMS Daring (1,375 t) ( location ) by a G7e torpedo. He was part of the escort of convoy HN-12. There were 157 dead and 15 survivors.
  • February 19, 1940: Sinking of the British steamer Tiberton (5,225 GRT) ( location ) by a G7e torpedo. He had loaded iron ore and was on his way from Narvik to Middlesbrough . It was a total loss with 33 dead.
  • February 22, 1940: sinking of the British steamer Loch Maddy (4,996 GRT). The steamer had already been damaged by U 57 on February 21, 1940 . U 23 sank it with a G7e torpedo. It broke in two, the stern stranded in Inganess Bay . The steamer had loaded 2,000 tons of  wheat , 6,000 tons of  wood and an airplane and was on its way from Vancouver via Victoria , Panama and Halifax to Leith . The ship belonged to the disbanded convoy HX-19 with 44 ships. There were four dead and 35 survivors.

Ninth venture

The boat was launched on April 13, 1940 at 22:00 for operation weserübung of Wilhelmshaven and on May 3, 1940 in Kiel one. No ships were sunk or damaged on this 20-day and approx. 1,800 nm above and 373 nm underwater expedition off Norway.

Tenth venture

The boat left Constanța on June 27, 1943 at 3:40 p.m. and returned there on July 19, 1943 at 9:20 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged during this 23-day, 2,008.9 nm above and 429.7 nm underwater operation in the Black Sea off the Caucasus coast.

Eleventh venture

The boat left Constanța on August 10, 1943 at 2:00 p.m. and returned there on September 9, 1943 at 12:51 p.m. On this 31 day long and 2,917.8 nm above and 585.2 nm underwater expedition in the Black Sea off the Caucasus coast, a 35 t mine clearing boat was sunk.

  • August 24, 1943: sinking of the Soviet mine-clearing boat KATSC-578 Hydraul. Schkwal (35 t). The boat was set on fire by hand grenades and explosive charges, burned out and sank. There were three dead and seven survivors.

Twelfth venture

The boat left Constanța on October 10, 1943 at 3:50 p.m. and returned there on November 11, 1943 at 9:15 a.m. On this 33 day long and 2,911.3 nm above and 618.6 nm underwater operation in the Black Sea off the Caucasus coast, a ship with 372 GRT was sunk and an auxiliary minesweeper with 1,005 GRT was damaged.

  • October 15, 1943: Damage to the Soviet auxiliary minesweeper TSC-486 Sovetskaya Rossija (1,005 GRT) by a torpedo.
  • October 23, 1943: Sinking of the Soviet motor ship Tanais (372 GRT) ( location ) by a torpedo. There were eleven dead and ten survivors.

Thirteenth venture

The boat left Constanța on December 14, 1943 at 10:15 p.m. and returned there on January 7, 1944 at 11:25 a.m. No ships were sunk or damaged during this 24-day, 2,321.6 nm above and 394.1 nm underwater expedition in the Black Sea.

Fourteenth venture

The boat left Constanța on March 30, 1944 at 2:10 p.m. and returned there on April 24, 1944 at 10:00 a.m. On this 26 day long and 1,913.7 nm above and 481.7 nm underwater operation in the Black Sea off the Caucasus coast, a ship with 56 t was sunk.

  • April 5, 1944: sinking of the Soviet mine clearing boat SKA-099 (56 t). The boat was sunk by machine gun fire.

Fifteenth venture

The boat left Constanța on May 17, 1944 at 2:00 p.m. and returned there on June 7, 1944 at 9:25 a.m. On this 21-day operation in the Black Sea off the Caucasus coast, a ship with 175 GRT was sunk.

  • May 29, 1944: sinking of the Soviet tug Smelyj (175 GRT) by two torpedoes.

Sixteenth venture

The boat sailed from Constanța on August 16, 1944 and attacked Romanian ships after the royal coup in Romania on August 23, 1944 . U 23 was then self-scuttled on September 10, 1944 by Oberleutnant zur See Rudolf Arendt and his crew . On this 25-day operation in the Black Sea, a ship with 5,900 GRT was sunk and a destroyer of 1,850 t was damaged.

The Romanian destroyer Regina Maria in 1944
  • September 1, 1944: Damage to the Romanian destroyer Regina Maria (1,850 t) of the Italian Regele Ferdinand class by a G7e torpedo.
  • September 1, 1944: sinking of the Romanian steamer Ardeal (5,605 GRT) by a G7e torpedo. The earlier assumption that it was the Oituz steamer (2,686 GRT) is incorrect. According to recent findings, the Ardeal was sunk.

Whereabouts

U 23 had no losses to complain about during its service time under its crew.

The boat was on 10 September 1944 the Turkish Black Sea coast near Ağva west of Kefken Island (Kefken Adasi) in position 41 ° 11 '  N , 30 ° 2'  O scuttled. The crew were interned in Turkey on the same day . After a four-year search, the wreck was discovered by divers at the end of January 2019 based on the information in the autobiographical book “Last Command, Sinking” by Commander Rudolf Arendt .

literature

  • Rudolf Arendt : Last order: sink. German submarines in the Black Sea 1942–1944. Memories of a submarine commander. Mittler, Hamburg et al. 1998, ISBN 3-8132-0543-6 .
  • Gerd Enders: German U-Boats to the Black Sea 1942–1944. A journey of no return. 1997.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ G. Enders: German U-Boats to the Black Sea. ES Mittler-Verlag, 1997, ISBN 3-8132-0520-7 .
  2. ↑ "U 23 led an artillery battle with two clearing boats and sank one of them" , according to Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945. Volume 3: German submarine successes from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 2001, ISBN 3-8132-0513-4 . P. 25
  3. ↑ “The earlier assumption that it was about the steamer Oituz is not correct. According to more recent findings, the Ardeal was sunk ” , according to Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939–1945. Volume 3: German submarine successes from September 1939 to May 1945. E. S. Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 2001, ISBN 3-8132-0513-4 . P. 25
  4. ↑ Sunk Wehrmacht submarine discovered , n-tv.de, February 1, 2019.
  5. ^ Find from World War II: The Commander and his submarine .