| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-223 |
| Ordered | 15 August 1940 |
| Builder | Germaniawerft,Kiel |
| Yard number | 653 |
| Laid down | 15 July 1941 |
| Launched | 16 April 1942 |
| Commissioned | 6 June 1942 |
| Fate | Sunk, 30 March 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Type VIICsubmarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length |
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| Beam |
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| Height | 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed |
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| Range | |
| Test depth |
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| Complement | 4 officers, 40–56 enlisted |
| Armament |
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| Service record | |
| Part of: |
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| Identification codes: | M 01 671 |
| Commanders: | |
| Operations: |
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| Victories: | |
German submarineU-223 was aType VIICU-boat ofNazi Germany'sKriegsmarine duringWorld War II.
Ordered on 15 August 1940 from theGermaniawerft shipyard inKiel, she waslaid down on 15 July 1941 as yard number 653,launched on 16 April 1942 andcommissioned on 6 June under the command ofKapitänleutnant Karl-Jürg Wächter.
A member of eightwolfpacks, she sank two ships totalling 12,556 gross register tons (GRT) in six patrols. She also sank one warship of 1,935 tons and caused one ship of 4,970 GRT and one warship of 1,300 tons to be declared total losses.
She was sunk on 30 March 1944 by British warships in theMediterranean Sea. 23 men died; there were 27 survivors.
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorterType VIIB submarines.U-223 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.[1] She had a total length of 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in), apressure hull length of 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in), abeam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and adraught of 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by twoGermaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylindersuperchargeddiesel engines producing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower (2,060 to 2,350 kW; 2,760 to 3,160 shp) for use while surfaced, twoAEG GU 460/8–27double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 metric horsepower (550 kW; 740 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m (4 ft)propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).[1]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph).[1] When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).U-223 was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in)torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteentorpedoes, one8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had acomplement of between forty-four and sixty.[1]
For her first patrol,U-223 departedKiel on 12 January 1943. Keeping to the Norwegian side of theNorth Sea, she entered the Atlantic Ocean having negotiated thegap betweenIceland and theFaroe Islands. She moved to the south ofGreenland. There, she sank the troop transportSS Dorchester west ofCape Farewell on 3 February. The troop ship was sailing with a total of 904 people on board. 675 of them died.Four of the dead were chaplains of different faiths who had given up their lifebelts to soldiers among the incumbents. The clergymen were posthumously awarded theDistinguished Service Cross and thePurple Heart; the US Congress declared 3 February 'Chaplains Observance Day' in 1961.
She also sankWinkler on 23 February; the ship went down in 45 seconds. The U-boat then prevented any retaliation from the convoy escort ships by diving underneath survivors in the water.
U-223 was attacked by a BritishFlying Fortress ofNo. 59 Squadron RAF on 1 March. The aircraft dropped sevendepth charges which overshot. Damage to the U-boat was slight, but the Fortress was hit and only just managed to return to its base.
The submarine docked atSt. Nazaire in occupied France on 6 March.
U-223 was depth charged to the surface and shelled by the destroyerHMS Hesperus in mid-Atlantic on 11 May 1943. Two men were lost overboard; one of them was rescued byU-359. Meanwhile,U-223 had escaped the wrath of the British ship and returned to St. Nazaire. Due to the repairs needed, she did not put to sea again until September.
Having left St. Nazaire on 14 September, the boat had passed the heavily fortified British base atGibraltar by the 26th. Before docking atToulon on 16 October, she attackedStanmore on the second nearCape Ivi, Algeria. The badly damaged ship was taken under tow by two tugs. She was beached atCape Tenes[2] where she broke in two and was declared a total loss.
Also a total loss was the British frigateHMS Cuckmere (K299). She had been escorting a convoy offBougie[3] when she was hit. She was towed to Algiers and returned to the US Navy in 1946.
U-223's fifth sortie was relatively uneventful, passing south ofSardinia and headed for the Italian mainland.
The U-boat had leftToulon on 16 March 1944. She was detected by theASDIC (sonar) ofHMS Ulster on the 29th north ofPalermo.Ulster was not alone; she was accompanied by two other destroyers -HMS Laforey andHMS Tumult. By early morning of the 30th, the U-boat, after heavy depth charging, was forced to the surface, where she was engaged by gunfire.Ulster had been replaced by two escort destroyers,HMS Hambledon andHMS Blencathra. Before being sunk,U-223 managed to fire three torpedoes, one of which sank HMSLaforey with heavy losses.
23 men from the U-boat died; there were 27 survivors.
U-223 took part in eightwolfpacks, namely:
| Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 February 1943 | Dorchester |  United States | 5,649 | Sunk |
| 23 February 1943 | Winkler |  Panama | 6,907 | Sunk |
| 2 October 1943 | Stanmore |  United Kingdom | 4,970 | Total loss |
| 11 December 1943 | HMS Cuckmere |  Royal Navy | 1,300 | Total loss |
| 30 March 1944 | HMS Laforey | Royal Navy | 1,935 | Sunk |
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in March 1944 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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