¹⁄72

U-boot Type XXIII, 1:72 Scale

"MSW Crew-mate Jan Klarbæk (MrMox) sends us a fine batch of images of his latest build, U-boot, Type XXIII, in 1:72 scale!"

vessel history...

German Type XXIII submarines were the first so-called elektro boats to become operational. Being small they were designed to operate in the shallows 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 small they could carry only two torpedoes, which had to be loaded externally.

As with their far larger brothers — the Type XXI — they were able to remain submerged almost all of the time and were faster than all previous designs worldwide, 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. The Type XXI and XXIII U-boats revolutionized post-war submarine design.

The first Type XXIII, U-2321, was launched from Deutsche Werft in Hamburg on April 17, 1944. It was one of six XXIIIs that went on operational patrol around the British Isles in early 1945. Forty-eight others followed from Deutsche Werft and 13 from Germaniawerft of Kiel. U-4712 was the last one launched, on April 19, 1945.

The first patrol of a Type XXIII began late in the war when U-2324 put to sea on January 29, 1945. U-2336 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Klusmeier sank the last ships lost in the war, on May 7, when he torpedoed a British and a Norwegian freighter inside the Firth of Forth.

None of the six operational Type XXIIIs — U-2321, U-2322, U-2324, U-2326, U-2329 and U-2336 — were sunk by the Allies but they sank or damaged five ships for a total of 14,601 tons.



Builders: Deutsche Werft, Hamburg (48 boats)
Germaniawerft, Kiel (13 boats)
Operators: Kriegsmarine
Completed: 61
Lost: 7

General characteristics
Type: Type XXIII U-boat
Displacement: 234 t (230 long tons) surfaced
258 t (254 long tons) submerged
Length: 34.7 m (113 ft 10 in)
Beam: 3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Draft: 3.67 m (12 ft 0 in)
Propulsion: Diesel-electric
1 × MWM RS134S 6-cylinder diesel engine, 575 hp
1 × AEG GU4463-8 double-acting electric motor, 572 hp
1 × BBC CCR188 electric creeping motor, 35 hp
Speed: 9.7 knots (18 km/h) surfaced
12.5 knots (23 km/h) submerged
Range: 2,600 nmi (4,800 km) at 8 kn (15 km/h/9.2 mph) surfaced
194 nmi (359 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h/4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth: 180 m (590 ft)
Complement: 14–18 2 torpedoes
From Wikipedia

the model...

Base Kit Alanger 1/72 scale Type XXIII Submarine, kit #040005

For Jan's complete, in-depth, inbox review of this kit here on MSW, click here!

To see Jan's build progress of this model kit, click here to be transported to Jan's "BLOG" (build log) of the kit.