SM U-23 (Austria-Hungary)

The design for U-23 was based on that of the Havmanden class of the Royal Danish Navy (Havmanden pictured)
History
Austria-Hungary
NameSM U-23
Ordered27 March 1915[2]
BuilderHungarian UBAG yard, Fiume[4]
Launched5 January 1917[1]
Commissioned1917[3]
FateSunk by Italian destroyer Airone, 21 February 1918[1]
Service record
Commanders:
  • Klemens Ritter von Bézard
  • 15 April 1917 - 21 February 1918[5]
Victories: None[5]
General characteristics
TypeU-20-class submarine
Displacement
  • 173 t, surfaced
  • 210 t, submerged[1]
Length127 ft 2 in (38.76 m)[1]
Beam13 ft (4.0 m)[1]
Draft9 ft (2.7 m)[1]
Propulsion
Speed
  • 12 knots (22 km/h) surfaced
  • 9 knots (17 km/h) submerged[1]
Range
  • 1,400 nautical miles (2,600 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) surfaced[6]
  • 23 nautical miles (43 km) at 8 knots (15 km/h) submerged
Complement18[1]
Armament

SM U-23 or U-XXIII was a U-20-class submarine or U-boat built for and operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy (German: Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine or K.u.K. Kriegsmarine) during the First World War. The design for U-23 was based on that of the submarines of the Royal Danish Navy's Havmanden class (which had been designed by Whitehead & Co. in Fiume), and was largely obsolete by the beginning of the war.

U-23 was just over 127 feet (39 m) long and was armed with two bow torpedo tubes, a deck gun, and a machine gun. In February 1918, U-23 was sunk with all hands by the Italian torpedo boat Airone while attempting an attack on the Italian transport Memfi. U-23 had no wartime successes.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Gardiner, p. 343.
  2. ^ Halpern, p. 382.
  3. ^ Halpern, p. 383.
  4. ^ Gardiner, p. 344.
  5. ^ a b Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: KUK U23". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
  6. ^ Gardiner, p. 354.