German submarine U-2323

German submarine U-2323) was probably the shortest lived German U-boat during the whole of the Second World War. Constructed at Hamburg during the spring of 1944, she was a modern German Type XXIII submarine, completed on the 18 July and given to Kptlt. Walter Angermann to command. A fast high-technology coastal boat, U-2323 was expected to be the new war-winning weapon in the Kriegsmarine's arsenal.

The seas around the German coastline were subject to very heavy allied attack during the final two years of the war, as the Royal Air Force sought to restrict German movement around their coasts by sowing thousands of air-dropped naval mines, thus delaying the production and training of new boats, disrupting coastal shipping and destroying several boats before they could become involved in the Battle of the Atlantic.

The U-2323 was a victim of this campaign, when on the 26 July 1944, just eight days old, she was sunk off Möltenort at the entrance to Kiel harbour on her maiden voyage. Two of her crew were killed in the blast, although the survivors managed to safely reach the shore. They were then transferred to other units. The holed boat was raised in early 1945, but was still undergoing repairs in Kiel at the time of the German surrender. It was broken up in situ post-war.