German submarine U-1018
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=small} | |
| Name | Unterseeboot U-1018 |
| Builder | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
| Laid down | 16 April 1943 |
| Launched | 1 March 1944 |
| Commissioned | 24 April 1944 |
| Fate | Sunk 27 February 1945 in the English Channel south of Penzance by depth charges from the British frigate HMS Loch Fada. 51 dead and 2 survivors. |
| Class and type | Type VIIC/41 submarine |
| Service record | |
| Part of: |
list error: <br /> list (help) Kriegsmarine: 31. Unterseebootsflottille 11. Unterseebootsflottille |
| Commanders: |
list error: <br /> list (help) Kptlt. Ulrich Faber (24 April 1944 – 1 June 1944) Kptlt. Walter Burmeister (2 June 1944 – 27 February 1945) |
| Operations: | 1 patrol, 21 January 1945 – 27 February 1945 |
| Victories: | 1 ship sunk for a total of 1,317 GRT |
U-1018 was a German submarine or U-boat, built during World War II for service in the Second Battle of the Atlantic.
She was completed in Hamburg in April 1944, and spent the rest of 1944 training with the 31st Training Flotilla. An accident took place during U-1018´s work-up period in the Baltic on 17 June which killed one crew member (Obersteuermann Walter Nellsen) and wounded two.[1] In December 1944, she was moved from Kiel to Horten in Norway, before departing on 21 January 1945 to patrol the Western Approaches of the English Channel under the command of Kptlt. Walter Burmeister.[2]
On 27 February 1945, in the company of U-327, she attacked convoy BTC 81 about seven miles from Lizard Point, Cornwall (at 49.55N, 05.22W).[3] U1018 launched a torpedo which hit the Norwegian freighter D/S Corvus which sank within a few minutes,[4] resulting in the death of five of the freighter's Norwegian crew, a 16-year old British cabin boy, Thomas Boniface, and two British Royal Navy gunners, (part of the DEMS gun crew) including former professional footballer Charlie Sillett.[5]
Two hours later, both U1018 and U327 were sunk by depth charges dropped by HMS Loch Fada under the command of Cdr. Benjamin Andrew Rogers, RD, RNR. Only two members of the crew of 53 survived.[1]
References
- ^ a b "U-1018". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 21 February 2009.
- ^ "Patrols by U-1018". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 21 February 2009.
- ^ "Today in History: February 27". www.seawaves.com. 27 February 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2009.
- ^ "D/S Corvus - Final Fate". www.warsailors.com. 30 July 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2009.
- ^ "D/S Corvus - crew list". www.warsailors.com. 30 July 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2009.