German Type XXIII submarine

German Type XXIII submarine

German Type XXIII submarines were the first so-called elektroboats to become operational. 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 Elektro boats were at risk in World War II. They were so...

s were small, fast coastal craft, capable of remaining underwater indefinitely, fuel permitting, while at sea. This made them extremely dangerous to allied shipping and much better protected against allied counter-measures. Their main drawback was that they carried only two torpedoes, which severely limited their combat effectiveness. These boats appeared in the last two months of 1944 onward and were too late to have a major effect on the Second World War.

Due to their late arrival, the majority of these boats were never used in combat, and were scuttled either in Germany or in Operation Deadlight

Operation Deadlight

Operation Deadlight was the code name for the scuttling of U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II....

 following the end of the war. These boats are listed below with construction and destruction information.

Type XXIII submarines

Boat	Construction				Commanders	Fate
	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Shipyard
	10 March 1944	17 April 1944	12 June 1944	Deutsche Werft Deutsche Werft Deutsche Werft was a German shipbuilding company, located in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded in 1918 on initiative by Albert Ballin and with Gutehoffnungshütte , Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft and Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft as investors.During World War II... , Hamburg Hamburg -History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...	Hans-Heinrich Barschkis	Performed one operational patrol, sinking the British merchant ship Gasray, before surrendering to the Allies. Sunk 27 November 1945 in Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight was the code name for the scuttling of U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II.... .
	22 March 1944	30 April 1944	1 July 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Fridtjof Heckel	Performed one operational patrol, sinking the British merchantman Egholm, before surrendering to the Allies. Sunk 27 November 1945 in Operation Deadlight.
	11 April 1944	31 May 1944	18 July 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Walter Angermann	Sunk by a naval mine Naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel... , 26 July 1944.
	21 April 1944	16 June 1944	25 July 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Hans-Heinrich Haß Konstantin von Rappard	Performed two operational patrols before surrendering to the Allies. Sunk 27 November 1945 in Operation Deadlight.
	13 July 1944	14 July 1944	13 August 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Wolf-Harald Schüler Kurt Eckel	Surrendered to the Allies at Kristiansand Kristiansand -History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...  and disposed of in Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight was the code name for the scuttling of U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II.... , 28 November 1945.
	8 May 1944	17 July 1944	10 August 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Karl Jobst	Performed two operational patrols before surrendering to the Allies, and was taken over by the British as N 35, before being transferred to France in 1946. Lost in an accident on 6 December 1946 at Toulon.
	16 May 1944	19 July 1944	19 August 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Heinrich Mürl Werner Müller Hans-Walter Pahl Hermann Schulz	Scuttled in Hamburg-Finkenwerder docks, 2 May 1945.
	19 May 1944	17 August 1944	25 August 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Hans-Ulrich Scholle Peter Lawrence	Surrendered to the Allies at Bergen Bergen Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , .... , Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...  and foundered during Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight was the code name for the scuttling of U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II.... , 27 November 1945.
	2 June 1944	11 August 1944	1 September 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Heinrich Schlott	Performed one operational patrol before surrendering to the Allies. Sunk 28 November 1945 in Operation Deadlight.
	12 June 1944	19 August 1944	7 September 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Hans Beckmann	Scuttled in Kiel Kiel Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...  harbour, 2 May 1945.
	30 June 1944	22 August 1944	12 September 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Hans-Walter Pahl	Sunk in a training accident, 10 October 1944.
	20 September 1944	18 October 1944	13 November 1944	Germaniawerft, Kiel Kiel Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...	Dieter Bornkessel Hans-Joachim Junker	Scuttled in Hamburg docks, 3 May 1945.
	27 September 1944	16 November 1944	18 December 1944	Germaniawerft, Kiel	Heinz Baumann	Scuttled in Geltinger Bay Gelting Gelting is a municipality in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated near the Baltic Sea, approx. 33 km northeast of Schleswig, and 30 km east of Flensburg.... , 4 May 1945.
	14 July 1944	26 August 1944	21 September 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Walter Angermann	Surrendered at Kristiansand Kristiansand -History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...  and disposed of in Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight was the code name for the scuttling of U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II.... , 28 November 1945.
	20 July 1944	31 August 1944	21 September 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Karl-Dietrich Benthin	Badly damaged by air attack on 19 April 1945, U-2335 surrendered at Kristiansand Kristiansand -History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...  and was disposed of in Operation Deadlight, 28 November 1945.
	27 July 1944	10 September 1944	30 September 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Jürgen Vockel Emil Klusmeier	Performed one operational patrol before surrendering to the Allies. On 8 May 1945 it sank two Allied merchant ships (Avondale Park and Sneland I) in the Firth of Forth Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south... . These were the last ships lost to German submarines in World War II. Surrendered at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Taken to Lisahally on 21 June 1945 for Operation Deadlight. Sunk on 3 January 1946.
	20 July 1944	10 September 1944	30 September 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Günther Behnisch	Surrendered at Kristiansand Kristiansand -History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...  and disposed of in Operation Deadlight, 28 November 1945.
	10 August 1944	18 September 1944	9 October 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Hans-Dietrich Kaiser	Sunk by British Beaufighter Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...  aircraft during training mission, 4 May 1945.
	15 August 1944	22 September 1944	16 November 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Germanus Woermann	Inoperable following unknown damage in port, December 1944. Scuttled in Gelting Bay, 5 May 1945.
	18 August 1944	28 September 1944	16 October 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Emil Klusmeier	Destroyed in Royal Air Force Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...  bombing raid, 30 March 1945.
	23 August 1944	3 October 1944	21 October 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Hermann Boehm Hermann Boehm (admiral) Hermann Boehm was a German naval officer who rose to the rank of General Admiral during the Second World War.-Military service:...	Surrendered at Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...  and disposed of in Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight was the code name for the scuttling of U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II.... , 31 December 1945.
	29 August 1944	13 October 1944	1 November 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Berchthold Schad von Mittelbiberach	Destroyed by naval mine during convoy operation, 26 December 1944.
	31 August 1944	18 October 1944	6 November 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Harald Fuhlendorf Hans-Ludwig Gaude	Scuttled in Gelting Bay, 5 May 1945.
	4 September 1944	24 October 1944	10 November 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Hermann Ellerlage	Sunk after collision with U-2336 during a training operation, 18 February 1945. Wreck raised in June 1956, and broken up at Rostock in 1958.
	7 September 1944	28 October 1944	15 November 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Karl Steffen	Surrendered at Stavanger Stavanger Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...  and disposed of in Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight was the code name for the scuttling of U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II.... , 27 November 1945.
	14 September 1944	31 October 1944	20 November 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Hermann von der Höh	Scuttled in Gelting Bay, 5 May 1945.
	19 September 1944	6 November 1944	2 December 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Willibald Ulbing	Scuttled in Gelting Bay, 5 May 1945.
	22 September 1944	16 November 1944	4 December 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Georg Goschzik	Surrendered at Stavanger Stavanger Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...  and docked in Belfast Belfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly... . Scrapped in 1949.
	25 September 1944	16 November 1944	11 December 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Hans-Georg Müller	Scuttled in Gelting Bay, 5 May 1945.
	28 September 1944	22 November 1944	23 December 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Werner Schauer	Surrendered at Kristiansand Kristiansand -History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...  and disposed of in Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight was the code name for the scuttling of U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II.... , 28 November 1945.
	3 October 1944	25 November 1944	30 December 1944	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Werner Brückner	Inoperable following damage from bombing raids, surrendered in Kiel and disposed of in Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight was the code name for the scuttling of U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II.... , 3 January 1946.
	9 October 1944	5 December 1944	11 January 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Sigmund Budzyn	Scuttled at Hörup Haff, 5 May 1945.
	10 October 1944	6 December 1944	9 January 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Jürgen Hillmann	Surrendered at Kristiansand Kristiansand -History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...  and was taken over by the British as N 37. Transferred to the USSR in 1947. Broken up in 1963.
	14 October 1944	10 December 1944	11 January 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Hans-Dieter Wex	Surrendered at Kristiansand Kristiansand -History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...  and disposed of in Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight was the code name for the scuttling of U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II.... , 22 December 1945.
	14 October 1944	10 December 1944	12 January 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Hans-Heino Franke	Scuttled in the Kieler Förde Kiel Fjord Kiel Fjord is an approximately long fjord or firth of the Baltic Sea along the shores of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Formed by glacial movement during the last Ice Age, it lies between the Danish Wold and Wagria. It originates at the Hörn in centre-city Kiel and merges into the Bay of Kiel.The... , near Laboe Laboe Laboe is a municipality in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the Baltic Sea coast, approximately 10 km northeast of Kiel. The Laboe Naval Memorial is located within the municipality, as is the submarine U-995.... , 3 May 1945.
	18 October 1944	13 December 1944	12 January 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Friedrich Hartel	Surrendered at Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...  and disposed of in Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight was the code name for the scuttling of U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II.... , 6 January 1946.
	21 October 1944	19 December 1944	13 January 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Erwin Heinrich	Scuttled at Gelting Bay, 5 May 1945.
	1 November 1944	20 December 1944	16 January 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Gerhard Breun	Scuttled at Gelting Bay, 5 May 1945.
	3 November 1944	23 December 1944	16 January 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Gustav Bischoff	Sunk by Allied air attack on a transport mission, 2 May 1945. Found in October 2007 off the island of Læsø Læsø Læsø is the largest island in the North Sea bay of Kattegat, and is located off the northeast coast of the Jutland Peninsula, the Danish mainland. Læsø is also the name of the municipality on that island...  in Denmark.
	7 November 1944	29 December 1944	23 January 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Kurt Schrobach	Scuttled in Gelting Bay, 5 May 1945.
	12 November 1944	3 January 1945	3 February 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Heinz von Henning	Surrendered at Kristiansand Kristiansand -History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...  and disposed of in Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight was the code name for the scuttling of U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II.... , 27 November 1945.
	22 November 1944	11 January 1945	5 February 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Martin Czekowski	Scuttled in Gelting Bay, 5 May 1945.
	22 November 1944	18 January 1945	5 February 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Karl Frahm	Surrendered at Kristiansand Kristiansand -History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...  and disposed of in Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight was the code name for the scuttling of U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II.... , 28 November 1945.
	27 November 1944	23 January 1945	14 February 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Dieter Hengen Gerhard Remus	Scuttled in Gelting Bay, 5 May 1945.
	6 December 1944	26 January 1945	2 March 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Fritz-Otto Korfmann Uwe Christiansen	Scuttled in the Kattegat Kattegat The Kattegat , or Kattegatt is a sea area bounded by the Jutland peninsula and the Straits islands of Denmark on the west and south, and the provinces of Västergötland, Scania, Halland and Bohuslän in Sweden on the east. The Baltic Sea drains into the Kattegat through the Øresund and the Danish...  following an air attack, May 1945, later raised and commissioned as in post-war Bundesmarine, 15 August 1957. Sank in North Sea, 14 September 1966. Raised and broken up, 1966.
	6 December 1944	17 February 1945	10 March 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Kurt Jäckel	Scuttled in Gelting Bay, 5 May 1945.
	11 December 1944	23 February 1945	17 March 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Heinrich Schröder	Sunk after collision with an unidentified German U-boat near Schleimünde, 5 May 1945. Raised in August 1956 and commissioned into the Bundemarine as on 1 October 1957. Stricken on 30 September 1968 and broken up at Kiel in 1969.
	15 December 1944	19 March 1945	11 April 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Fritz Ufermann	Scuttled in Gelting Bay, 5 May 1945.
	20 December 1944	24 March 1945	18 April 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Hermann Schulz Hans-Walter Pahl	Scuttled in Gelting Bay, 5 May 1945.
	20 December 1944	March 1945	15 April 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Dieter Bornkessel	Scuttled in Hamburg-Finkwerder, 3 May 1945.
	19 January 1945	19 April 1945	20 April 1945	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg	Johannes Kühne	Scuttled in Hamburg-Finkwerder, 3 May 1945.
	13 October 1944	14 December 1944	10 January 1945	Germaniawerft, Kiel	Arnold Wiechmann	Scuttled in Hörop Haff off Flensburg Flensburg Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig... , 5 May 1945.
	15 October 1944	12 December 1944	22 January 1945	Germaniawerft, Kiel	Edgar Seeliger	Scuttled in Hörop Haff off Flensburg Flensburg Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig... , 5 May 1945.
	27 October 1944	3 January 1945	21 March 1945	Germaniawerft, Kiel	Hans-Ulrich Scholz	Scuttled in Geltinger Bay Gelting Gelting is a municipality in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated near the Baltic Sea, approx. 33 km northeast of Schleswig, and 30 km east of Flensburg.... , 5 May 1945 .
	9 November 1944	13 February 1945	14 March 1945	Germaniawerft, Kiel	Gerhard Franceschi	Scuttled in Hörop Haff off Flensburg Flensburg Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig... , 5 May 1945.
	10 November 1944	11 January 1945	2 February 1945	Germaniawerft, Kiel	Martin Landt-Hayen	Scuttled in Kiel harbour, 3 May 1945.
	14 November 1944	19 January 1945	7 February 1945	Germaniawerft, Kiel	Manfred Schneider	Surrendered at Kristiansand Kristiansand -History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040... , and arrived Loch Ryan Loch Ryan Loch Ryan is a Scottish sea loch that acts as an important natural harbour for shipping, providing calm waters for ferries operating between Scotland and Northern Ireland... , Scotland, 29 May 1945. Transferred to the Royal Norwegian Navy Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy is the branch of the Norwegian Defence Force responsible for naval operations. , the RNoN consists of approximately 3,700 personnel and 70 vessels, including 5 heavy frigates, 6 submarines, 14 patrol boats, 4 minesweepers, 4 minehunters, 1 mine detection vessel, 4 support...  in October 1948 and commissioned as HNorMS Knerter. Used for storage by the Royal Norwegian Yacht Club Royal Norwegian Yacht Club The Royal Norwegian Yacht Club is a yacht club in Oslo, Norway . The club was established in 1883 and has some 4,000 members... from 14 April 1950. Stricken in 1954 and broken up.
	23 November 1944	25 January 1945	20 February 1945	Germaniawerft, Kiel	Joachim Leder	Scuttled in Geltinger Bay, 5 May 1945.
	December 1944	8 February 1945	3 March 1945	Germaniawerft, Kiel	Paul Berkemann	Scuttled in the Germaniawerft dock in Kiel, 4 May 1945.
	1 March 1945	14 April 1945	1 May 1945	Germaniawerft, Kiel	Ludwig-Ferdinand von Friedeburg	Scuttled in Geltinger Bay, 5 May 1945.
	1 December 1944	21 February 1945	21 March 1945	Germaniawerft, Kiel	Siegfried Endler	Scuttled in the Germaniawerft dock in Kiel, 4 May 1945.
	3 January 1945	1 March 1945	3 April 1945	Germaniawerft, Kiel	Karl-Heinz Rohlfing	Scuttled in the Germaniawerft dock in Kiel, 3 May 1945.