German submarine U-1223
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-1223 |
| Ordered: | 25 August 1941 |
| Builder: | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg |
| Yard number: | 386 |
| Laid down: | 25 November 1942 |
| Launched: | 23 June 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 6 October 1943 |
| Decommissioned: | 14 April 1945 |
| Fate: | scuttled 5 May 1945 in position 53°32′N 8°35′E / 53.533°N 8.583°ECoordinates: 53°32′N 8°35′E / 53.533°N 8.583°E[1] |
| General characteristics [2] | |
| Class and type: | Type IXC/40 submarine |
| Displacement: | 1,144 t (1,126 long tons) surfaced 1,257 t (1,237 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in) o/a 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: | 6.86 m (22 ft 6 in) o/a 4.44 m (14 ft 7 in) pressure hull |
| Height: | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draft: | 4.67 m (15 ft 4 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel engines, 4,400 hp (3,281 kW) 2 × SSW GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors, 1,000 hp (746 kW) |
| Speed: | 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged |
| Range: | 13,850 nmi (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 63 nmi (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) |
| Complement: | 4 officers, 44 enlisted |
| Armament: |
|
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
4th U-boat Flotilla 2nd U-boat Flotilla 33rd U-boat Flotilla |
| Identification codes: | M 53 099 |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt. Harald Bosüner Oblt.z.S. Albert Kneip |
| Operations: | 1 patrol |
| Victories: | 2 ships damaged |
German submarine U-1223 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
U-1223 was ordered in August 1941 from Deutsche Werft in Hamburg-Finkenwerder under the yard number 385. Her keel was laid down on 2 November 1942 and was launched the following year on 6 June 1943. About three months later she was commissioned into service under the command of Kapitänleutnant Harald Bosüner (Crew 35) in the 4th U-boat Flotilla.
While working up for deployment, U-1223 Bosüner was relieved and handed over command to Oberleutnant zur See Albert Kneip (Crew X/39) on 3 March 1944. After completing training, the U-boat transferred to the 2nd U-boat Flotilla and left Kiel for the West Atlantic on 3 August 1944 for her first and only patrol. Stopping briefly in Bergen, Norway, for replenishment, she operated off the Canadian coast, damaging HMCS Magog on 14 October 1944 and the British steamer SS Fort Thompson on 2 November. Magog was towed back to port, but declared a constructive loss and decommissioned.
U-1223 arrived back in Kristiansand on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1944, and continued her journey to Flensburg, where she arrived three days later. Having been transferred to the 33rd U-boat Flotilla, she left Flensburg again for Königsberg on 5 January 1945, arriving there on the 10th. The U-boat experienced technical problems in the end of January 1945 and had to be towed into Stettin. From there she travelled under tow of U-1108 to Wesermünde, where she was decommissioned on 15 April 1945. Most of her crew was ordered to form a tank destroyer unit in Neustadt in Holstein under the command of the 1st watch officer.
When British forces closed in on the port, the U-boat was scuttled in position 53°32′N 8°35′E / 53.533°N 8.583°E on 5 May 1945. Her wreck was later broken up for scrap.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Busch & Röll 1999, p. 340.
- ↑ Gröner 1985, pp. 105-6.
Bibliography
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German) IV (Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler). ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- Gröner, Erich (1985). U-Boote, Hilfskreuzer, Minenschiffe, Netzleger, Sperrbrecher. Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945 (in German) III (Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe). ISBN 3-7637-4802-4.
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