German submarine ''U-2331'' was a Type XXIII

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

built for

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's ''

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'' during

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and intended for service against allied shipping in coastal waters. She was a brand new, high-technology electric U-boat which was lost when only one month old in a bizarre training accident in the

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. Built at

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, she was constructed at speed, as she and her sisters were seen as war winning weapons and thus vitally important to the German war effort.

Design

Like all Type XXIII

s, ''U-2331'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of ( o/a), a beam width of (o/a), and a draught depth of. The submarine was powered by one MWM six-cylinder RS134S diesel engine providing , one

AEG The initials AEG are used for or may refer to: Common meanings * AEG (German company) ; AEG) was a German producer of electrical equipment. It was established in 1883 by Emil Rathenau as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte El ...

GU4463-8 double-acting electric motor electric motor providing , and one

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CCR188 electric motor providing . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate at for ; when surfaced, she could travel at . ''U-2331'' was fitted with two

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s in the bow. She could carry two preloaded

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

es. The

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was 14–18 men. This class of U-boat did not carry a deck gun.

Service history

Completed in September 1944, ''U-2331'' was undergoing a fast-track working-up period in the Baltic under her commander ''

Oberleutnant zur See (''OLt zS'' or ''OLZS'' in the German Navy, ''Oblt.z.S.'' in the ''Kriegsmarine'') is traditionally the highest rank of Lieutenant in the German Navy. It is grouped as Ranks and insignia of officers of NATO Navies, OF-1 in NATO. The rank was ...

'' Hans-Walter Pahl under the observation of Klaus Vernier, a highly experienced U-boat commander and tactical expert. On 10 October, just 28 days after her completion, ''U-2331'' dived and failed to surface in the sea off the

Hel Peninsula Hel Peninsula (; ; ; or ''Putziger Nehrung'') is a sand bar peninsula in northern Poland separating the Bay of Puck from the open Baltic Sea. It is located in Puck County of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Name The name of the peninsula ...

. Four of the reduced crew (including the captain), escaped the sinking ship but 15 did not, including Vernier. The ''

'' conducted an investigation into the loss, at which it was revealed that either the captain or Vernier had ordered the submarine to submerge whilst travelling in reverse, thus unbalancing the boat and causing it to sink uncontrollably. A handful of men on the conning tower survived as the boat sank under them. The wreck was raised and taken to

Gotenhafen Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...

(Gdynia, Poland), but the time submerged underwater had irreparably damaged the boat's systems, and the remains were scrapped.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:U2331 World War II submarines of Germany Type XXIII submarines U-boat lost in diving accidents World War II shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea U-boats commissioned in 1944 U-boats sunk in 1944 1944 ships Ships built in Hamburg Maritime incidents in October 1944