The first forty-nine boats ( U-2321 to U-2331, and U-2334 to U-2371) were ordered from Deutsche Werft, Hamburg, while two ( U-2332 and U-2333) were ordered from Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft's yard at Kiel. A submerged speed of 10 + 1⁄ 2 kn (19 km/h) could be attained while snorkeling. Submerged, its speed was 12 + 1⁄ 2 kn (23 km/h), and while surfaced its speed was 9 kn (17 km/h). Its crash dive time was 9 seconds, and its maximum diving depth was 180 metres (98 fathoms). The Type XXIII proved to have excellent handling characteristics, and was highly maneuverable both on the surface and underwater. The torpedoes were loaded by ballasting the submarine down at the stern so that the bow lifted clear of the water and the torpedoes could be loaded directly into their tubes from a barge. Due to the space restrictions, the forward bow section had to be made as short as possible, which meant that only two torpedo tubes could be fitted and no reload torpedoes could be carried. For transportation, the hull was broken into four sections and the bridge was removed. In order to allow the boat to be transported by rail, the hull sections had to be limited in size to fit the standard loading gauge. As with the Type XXI, the lower section of the figure-of-eight hull was used to house a large 62-cell battery. The submarine was propelled by a single three-bladed propeller and steered by a single rudder. In line with Walter's design practice, there were no forward hydroplanes, although these were added later. It had a fully streamlined outer casing and apart from the relatively small conning tower and a fairing which housed the Diesel exhaust silencer, it had an uncluttered upper deck. The Type XXIII had an all-welded single hull, the first submarine to use such a design. Of the 280 submarines ordered, only 61 entered service, and only 6 ever carried out a war patrol. In the end, circumstances meant that construction was concentrated at Germaniawerft in Kiel and Deutsche Werft in Hamburg, Germaniawerft building 51 and Deutsche Werft 49. These were reassigned to the Linzner yard on and subsequently cancelled. Some were to be assembled at foreign yards, including U-2446 through U-2460 at the Deutsche Werft yard at Mykolaiv, Southern Ukraine. The lead contractor was Deutsche Werft in Hamburg.Īs with the Type XXI, the Type XXIII was intended to be constructed in sections, various modules being produced by different subcontractors. By 30 June 1943 the design was ready and construction began in parallel at several shipyards in Germany, France, Italy and Ukraine. To reduce development time, Hellmuth Walter designed the new submarine based on the previous Type XXII prototype. The development of the Type XXIII was given a high priority, with an emphasis on using existing components as much as possible. Admiral Karl Dönitz added two requirements: as the boat would have to operate in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, it had to be able to be transported by rail, and it had to use the standard 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes. When development began on the Type XXI U-boat in late 1942, it was proposed to simultaneously develop a smaller version incorporating the same advanced technology to replace the Type II coastal submarine. Nearly a thousand Type XXIII boats were projected towards the close of World War II, but most of these were either cancelled, scrapped incomplete, or only projected. The Type XXI and XXIII U-boats revolutionized post-war submarine design. As with their far larger sisters-the Type XXI-they were able to remain submerged almost all of the time and were faster than conventional U-boats, due to the improved streamlining of their shape, batteries with larger capacity and the snorkel, which allowed the diesel engines to be used while submerged. They were so small they could carry only two torpedoes, which had to be loaded externally. They were small coastal submarines designed to operate in the shallow waters of the North Sea, Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea, where larger Type XXI electric boats were at risk in World War II. German Type XXIII submarines were the first so-called elektroboote ("electric boats") to become operational. 1 × BBC CCR188 electric creeping motor, 35 metric horsepower (26 kW 35 shp).1 × AEG GU4463-8 double-acting electric motor, 580 metric horsepower (427 kW 572 shp).Type XVII submarine (AIP-powered coastal submarine).Type II submarine (Conventional coastal submarine).
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