The U-18 is a small type IIB submarine from the Second World War . The order for construction was given on February 2, 1935 . The boat was laid at the shipyard of the shipbuilding company Germaniawerft , Kiel on July 10, 1935 under factory number 548. Launched on December 7, 1935 . On January 4, 1936, it was put into service and, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Hans Pokstadt, became part of the 1st Flotilla . [one]
| U-18 | |
|---|---|
| Service | |
 Germany | |
| Ship class and type | Small DPL |
| Home port | Memel , Kiel , Wilhelmshaven , Constanta |
| Project | IIB |
| Launched | December 7, 1935 |
| Removed from the fleet | August 25, 1944 |
| Status | flooded |
| Main characteristics | |
| Displacement above the water | 279 t |
| Underwater displacement | 328 t |
| Full displacement | 414 t |
| Length | 42.7 m |
| Width | 4.08 m |
| Height | 8.6 m |
| Draft | 3.90 m |
| Power point | 6- cylinder 4-stroke "MWM" RS127S 2x350 hp electric motor "Siemens" 2x180 hp |
| Surface speed | 13.0 knots |
| Underwater speed | 7.0 knots |
| Extreme depth | 150 m |
| Navigation range above water | 3100 miles (5000 km ) at 8 knots |
| Underwater navigation range | 43 miles (69 km ) at 4 knots |
| Crew | 25 people |
| Armament | |
| Artillery | 1 x 2 cm / 65 C / 30 (1000 shells) |
| Mine-torpedo armament | 3 TA caliber 533 mm, 5 torpedoes or 18 min TMB or 12 TMA |
Service history
Made 14 combat campaigns; damaged 1 ship (7,745 brt ), 1 warship (56 brt ); sank 2 vessels (1,500 brt ), 1 auxiliary military vessel (400 grt ).
During crew training on November 20, 1936, at 09:54, she sank in the Bay of Lübeck at a point with coordinates of after collision with T-156 . 8 crew members died, 12 managed to escape. Was raised on November 28, 1936 . It returned to service on September 30, 1937, as part of the 30th flotilla , after it was transported by land and along the Danube to the Black Sea.
August 20, 1944 in the harbor of the Romanian Constanta was damaged during the Soviet air attack. As a result, U-18 was recognized non-seaworthy and decommissioned. Flooded by a team on August 25, 1944 near Constanta , Romania , at coordinates
At the end of 1944 the USSR was raised. May 26, 1947 sunk as a result of torpedo exercises of the Soviet submarine M-120 (also on that day the former U-24 was sunk)
First to Sixth Trekking (North Sea)
On August 30, 1939, the U-18 withdrew from Memel on its first combat campaign to patrol the Baltic in the Danzig area. The nine days spent by boat at sea were unremarkable, and as a result, on September 7, she came to Swinemünde . [2] , and the next day made the transition to Kiel
September 14, 1939 , after refueling and replenishing supplies, U-18 again went on a defensive patrol in the area of Sejerø Bay in the Kattegat strait. However, this time for 11 days spent at sea, nothing worthy of attention happened, and on September 24 the submarine returned to Kiel . [3]
On October 2, 1939, the U-18 began its third expedition to patrol the northern part of the North Sea . But, despite the fact that the trip was longer, for all 18 days luck never smiled at her, which, combined with bad weather, did not allow the submarine to distinguish itself. On October 19, she returned safely to Kiel again. [four]
On November 15, 1939, U-18 entered the fourth trip to the North Sea to the east coast of Scotland . And then, finally, she was lucky enough to take part in the hostilities.
On November 18, at 8:45 pm, she attacked the steam freighter Parkhill (commanded by Eric Charles Middleton ) with a single G7e torpedo . After the first miss, the submarine attacked again and at 21:16 fired another G7e at him. As a result, a heavy explosion thundered on the ship and it instantly sank to the north-north-west from Kinnard Head , taking with them the lives of all 9 crew members aboard.
November 20, in conjunction with the U-57 , the boat attacked (but to no avail) the British destroyer .
November 23, U-18 again safely arrived in Kiel . [five]
January 18, 1940 began the fifth campaign of the U-18 . Coming out of Kiel, she again headed to the North Sea to the east coast of Scotland .
On January 23, at 07:01, the boat fired a single G7e torpedo on a small steamer and observed entering the bridge area, which led to the sinking of the vessel for 30 minutes. The first contact with the vessel took place at 00:50, when the U-boat discovered the vessel, but the first torpedo, released at 06:49, passed by. It is believed that the victim of this attack was a neutral cargo ship Bisp (commanded by Rolf Kvilhaug ( Norwegian Rolf Kvilhaug )), released without an escort from England to Norway and missing.
Having shot all the torpedoes in the last attack, the submarine was forced to end the campaign ahead of time, as a result of which she came to Wilhelmshaven on January 26 . [6]
On February 11, 1940, U-18 left Wilhelmshaven on its sixth and last military campaign on this theater. The task was again to patrol the North Sea off the east coast of Scotland . However, already existing problems with diesel engines , aggravated by bad weather conditions, forced the boat to stop the march on February 19 and set off for the opposite course. As a result, on February 24 she returned to Wilhelmshaven . [7] On February 27, U-18 made the transition from Wilhelmshaven to Kiel .
Seventh-fourteenth hikes (Black Sea)
Until the end of 1940, the boat served as a training, after which it was land and then along the Danube taken to the Romanian port of Constanta , where she continued her military service at the Black Sea theater.
On May 26, 1943, U-18 left Constanta for its first and seventh combat campaign on this theater. The task was to patrol coastal waters between Poti and Sukhumi . Shortly after the release, however, a defect in the periscope was discovered, which led to the fact that on June 5 the submarine was forced to interrupt the march. June 9, she returned to Constanta . [eight]
On June 16, 1943, after a minor overhaul of U-18s, it again departed from Constanta in the eighth battle campaign to patrol the Black Sea .
On 25 June, the boat attempted to attack the harbor of Sukhumi , however, noticed by patrol boats, was forced to retreat.
On June 27, the submarine discovered a Soviet submarine , but this meeting did not go off fire.
June 28 , having spent all the torpedoes , U-18 went to replenish supplies in Sevastopol , where she spent several days.
On July 3, the second part of this campaign began, in which the boat was ordered to patrol the coastal waters between Tuapse and Gelendzhik , but this part of the campaign was sufficiently unsaturated with events.
On July 19 , before returning to the base, the U-boat briefly entered Feodosia to replenish supplies, and then, on July 22, returned to Constanza . [9]
On August 21, 1943, U-18 embarked on the ninth expedition, with the task of patrolling the coastal waters between Adler and Poti .
On August 29, at 21:51, approximately 25 miles (40 km ) north-west of Poti , the submarine fired a single torpedo at Tshch-11 Dzhalit , and watched the stern mast hit the area after 1 minute 55 seconds. Immediately after this, secondary explosions followed and the ship quickly sank with a trim to the stern. The survivors were picked up by the minesweeper SKA-0108 .
August 30 at 19:32 U-boat attacked with a sea hunter SKA-0132 with a 20mm anti-aircraft cannon . The artillery fire inflicted a certain amount of damage, but the boat had to interrupt the attack due to the flare from the shore, blinding the Germans.
On September 15, U-18 entered Feodosia to replenish supplies and landed a sick crew member ashore.
On September 24, the submarine again safely returned to Constanza . [ten]
On October 27, 1943, U-18 went on the tenth expedition to patrol the coastal waters between Batumi and Tuapse .
October 30 , passing Theodosia , the boat briefly embarked on refueling.
On November 18 at 5:15 pm U-18 fired two torpedoes at a Soviet convoy discovered not far from Lazarevskoye , hitting both of them on the tanker Joseph Stalin . 20 minutes after that, the boat reported drowning and left. The team, however, managed to put out the fire and continue to move in Tuapse at 6 knots , however, due to the increased draft, the vessel could not enter the port. On November 20, the tanker was towed back to Batumi and put in for repair. Subsequently, the ship returned to service.
On November 24, U-boat returned to Constanza . [eleven]
January 29, 1944 U-18 began the eleventh hike, going to patrol the coastal waters between Tuapse and Sochi .
On February 16 , not finding targets for a long time, attacked the harbor of the port of Batumi .
February 26, the boat came to refuel in Sevastopol .
February 29 submarine, at the end of the patrol, came to Constanta . [12]
March 25, 1944 U-18 went on the twelfth campaign, a patrol between Tuapse and Gelendzhik . The only event in it, however, was that on April 25 , being mistakenly attacked by a German BV 138 aircraft, it received minor damage. On February 27, the submarine returned to Constanza . [13]
On May 25, 1944 , U-18 went on the thirteenth campaign, again on patrol between Tuapse and Gelendzhik . This trip, however, was even less intense than the previous one, and as a result, on June 7, the boat returned to Constanza . [14]
On July 24, 1944 , U-18 set off on the last, fourteenth expedition, with the task of patrolling the waters between Tuapse and Poti . Like the previous one, this march was full of events, and on August 16 the submarine again came to Constanza . [15]
Commanders
- January 4, 1936 - November 20, 1936 - Lieutenant Commander Hans Pokstadt ( German: Kapitänleutnant Hans Pauckstadt )
- September 30, 1937 - October 31, 1937 - Lieutenant Commander Heinz Bedun ( German: Kapitänleutnant Heinz Beduhn )
- November 1, 1937 - November 24, 1939 - Chief Lieutenant Tsur See (from April 1, 1939 Lieutenant Commander ) Max-Hermann Bauer ( German: Oberleutnant zur See Max-Hermann Bauer )
- November 24, 1939 - September 2, 1940 - Chief Lieutenant Zur See Ernst Mengerzen ( German: Oberleutnant zur See Ernst Mengersen ) ( Knight of the Knight's Iron Cross )
- September 3, 1940 - December 17, 1940 - Chief Lieutenant of Tsursee (from October 1, 1940, Lieutenant Commander ) Hans-Heinz Linder ( German: Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Heinz Linder )
- December 18, 1940 - May 6, 1941 - Lieutenant Commander Ernst Vogelzang ( German: Kapitänleutnant Ernst Vogelsang )
- May 6, 1941 - May 31, 1942 - Lieutenant of Tsur See (from September 1, 1941, Chief Lieutenant of See See) Hans-Achim von Rosenberg-Gruschinsky ( him. Leutnant zur See Hans-Achim von Rosenberg-Gruszcynski )
- June 1, 1942 - August 18, 1942 - Chief Lieutenant Friedrich-Wilhelm Wiessmann ( German: Oberleutnant zur See Friedrich-Wilhelm Wissmann )
- December 3, 1942 - August 25, 1944 - Chief Lieutenant Tzur See Karl Flege ( German: Oberleutnant zur See Karl Fleige ) ( Knight of the Knight's Iron Cross )
- May 2, 1944 - May 25, 1944 - Chief Lieutenant Zur See Hans-Jürgen Barsch ( German: Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Jürgen Bartsch )
- May 25, 1944 - June 7, 1944 - Chief Lieutenant Zur See Rudolf Arendt ( German: Oberleutnant zur See Rudolf Arendt )
Flotilla
- January 4, 1936 - November 20, 1936 - 1st Flotilla
- September 30, 1937 - October 31, 1939 - 3rd Flotilla
- November 1, 1939 - March 31, 1940 - 1. U-Ausbildungsflottille Flotilla (combat service)
- April 1, 1939 - June 1, 1940 - 1. U-Ausbildungsflottille Flotilla (training boat)
- July 1, 1940 - December 17, 1940 - the 24th Flotilla
- May 6, 1943 - August 25, 1944 - the Black Sea 30th Flotilla
Drowned ships
| Title | Type of | Affiliation | date | Tonnage ( brt ) | Cargo | Fate | A place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parkhill | cargo ship | Great Britain | November 18, 1939 | 500 | 449 tons of coal | sunk | |
| Bisp | cargo ship | Norway | January 23, 1940 | 1 000 | coal | sunk | Grid AN 4221 |
| Tshch-11 Dzhalita | minesweeper | the USSR | August 29, 1943 | 400 | - | sunk | |
| SKA-0132 | submarine chaser | the USSR | August 30, 1943 | 56 | - | damaged | |
| Joseph Stalin | tanker | the USSR | November 18, 1943 | 7745 | - | damaged | Grid cl 9179 |
See also
- List of submarines of the Third Reich
Notes
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur U-18 . German U-boats since the Second World War . Uboat.net.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur Data on U-18 hikes (First hike) . U-boat patrols . Uboat.net.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur Data on U-18 hikes (Second hike) . U-boat patrols . Uboat.net.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur Data on U-18 hikes (Third hike) . U-boat patrols . Uboat.net.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur Data on U-18 hikes (Fourth hike) . U-boat patrols . Uboat.net.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur Data on U-18 hikes (Fifth hike) . U-boat patrols . Uboat.net.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur Data on U-18 hikes (Sixth hike) . U-boat patrols . Uboat.net.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur Data on U-18 hikes (Seventh hike) . U-boat patrols . Uboat.net.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur Data on U-18 hikes (Eighth hike) . U-boat patrols . Uboat.net.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur Data on U-18 hikes (Ninth hike) . U-boat patrols . Uboat.net.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur Data on U-18 (Tenth Hike) campaigns . U-boat patrols . Uboat.net.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur Data on U-18 hikes (Eleventh hike) . U-boat patrols . Uboat.net.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur Data on U-18 hikes (Twelfth hike) . U-boat patrols . Uboat.net.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur Data on U-18 hikes (Thirteenth hike) . U-boat patrols . Uboat.net.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur Data on U-18 hikes (Fourteenth hike) . U-boat patrols . Uboat.net.