German submarine U-223 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

Ordered on 15 August 1940 from the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel, she was laid down on 15 July 1941 as yard number 653, launched on 16 April 1942 and commissioned on 6 June under the command of Kapitänleutnant Karl-Jürg Wächter.

A member of eight wolfpacks, she sank two ships totalling in six patrols. She also sank one warship of 1,935 tons and caused one ship of and one warship of 1,300 tons to be declared total losses. Notable among the ships sunk was SS Dorchester, which carried the Four Chaplains, remembered for giving up their lifebelts to soldiers during the sinking on 3 February 1943.

U-223 was sunk on 30 March 1944 by British warships in the Mediterranean Sea. 23 men died; there were 27 survivors.

Design German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-223 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two AEG GU 460/8–27 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to .

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . U-223 was fitted with five torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history

First patrol For her first patrol, U-223 departed Kiel on 12 January 1943. Keeping to the Norwegian side of the North Sea, she entered the Atlantic Ocean having negotiated the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. She moved to the south of Greenland. There, she sank the troop transport SS Dorchester west of Cape Farewell on 3 February. The troop ship was underway with a total of 904 people on board; 675 of them died in the sinking. Among the dead were the "Four Chaplains" who had given up their lifebelts to soldiers as the ship sank. The clergymen were posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart; the US Congress declared 3 February "Chaplains Observance Day" in 1961.

She also sank Winkler 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 British Flying Fortress of No. 59 Squadron RAF on 1 March. The aircraft dropped seven depth 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 at St. Nazaire in occupied France on 6 March.

Second patrol U-223 was depth charged to the surface and shelled by the destroyer in mid-Atlantic on 11 May 1943. Two men were lost overboard; one of them was rescued by . 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.

Third patrol Having left St. Nazaire on 14 September, the boat had passed the heavily fortified British base at Gibraltar by the 26th. Before docking at Toulon on 16 October, she attacked Stanmore on the second near Cape Ivi, Algeria. The badly damaged ship was taken under tow by two tugs. She was beached at Cape TenesThe Times Atlas of the World - Third edition, revised 1995, , p. 15 where she broke in two and was declared a total loss.

Fourth and fifth patrols Also a total loss was the British frigate HMS Cuckmere (K299). She had been escorting a convoy off BougieThe Times Atlas of the World, pp.15 and 48 when she was hit. She was towed to Algiers and returned to the US Navy in 1946.

U-223s fifth sortie was relatively uneventful, passing south of Sardinia and headed for the Italian mainland.

Sixth patrol and loss The U-boat had left Toulon on 16 March 1944. She was detected by the ASDIC (sonar) of on the 29th north of Palermo. Ulster was not alone; she was accompanied by two other destroyers - and . 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, and . Before being sunk, U-223 managed to fire three torpedoes, one of which sank HMS Laforey with heavy losses.

23 men from the U-boat died; there were 27 survivors.

Wolfpacks U-223 took part in eight wolfpacks, namely: Haudegen (26 January – 2 February 1943) Nordsturm (2 – 9 February 1943) Haudegen (9 – 15 February 1943) Taifun (15 – 20 February 1943) Amsel (22 April – 3 May 1943) Amsel 2 (3 – 6 May 1943) Elbe (7 – 10 May 1943) Elbe 2 (10 – 12 May 1943)

Summary of raiding history Date Ship Name Nationality TonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement. Fate3 February 19435,649Sunk23 February 1943Winkler6,907Sunk2 October 1943Stanmore4,970Total loss11 December 19431,300Total loss30 March 19441,935Sunk

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