U 18 (Navy)
|
U 18 (Kriegsmarine) ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
|
|---|---|
| Type : | II B |
| Field Post Number : | M 23 452 |
| Shipyard: | Germania shipyard , Kiel |
| Construction contract: | February 2, 1935 |
| Build number: | 548 |
| Keel laying: | July 10, 1935 |
| Launch: | December 7, 1935 |
| Commissioning: | January 4, 1936 |
| Commanders: |
|
| Calls: | 14 patrols |
| Sinkings: |
5 ships (7,436 GRT ) + 2 ships damaged (7801 GRT) |
| Whereabouts: | self-sunk on August 25, 1944 |
U 18 was a German submarine of type II B , which in the Second World War by the Navy was used.
history
The building contract for the boat was awarded to the Germania shipyard in Kiel on February 2, 1935 . The keel was laid on July 10, 1935, the launch on December 7, 1935, the commissioning under Lieutenant Hans Pauckstadt on January 4, 1936.
The boat belonged to the U-Flotilla "Weddigen" as a service boat until November 21, 1936 . U 18 sank on November 20, 1936 at 9:54 a.m. in the Lübeck Bay after a collision with the German torpedo boat T 156 . Eight sailors were killed. The boat was lifted, repaired, made seaworthy again on November 28, 1936 and put back into service on September 30, 1937. After being put into service again, from September 30, 1939 to November 1939, it belonged to the “Lohs” submarine flotilla in Kiel . As a front boat it took part in the surveillance of the Polish coast during the occupation of Poland . From April 1940 it was used as a training and school boat in the 1st U-Flotilla , then from July 1, 1940 to December 17, 1940 with the 24th U-Flotilla in Memel and from December 18, 1940 to September 1942 used in the 22nd U-Flotilla in Gotenhafen before it was relocated to the Black Sea as part of the 30th U-Flotilla over land and the Danube.
U 18 was re-equipped as the fourth German submarine at the Romanian Danube shipyard in Galați , put into service again on May 6, 1943 at 11:00 a.m. and transferred down the Danube through the Danube Delta and Black Sea to Constanța . In Constanța it belonged to the 30th U-Flotilla until it was scuttled on August 25, 1944. U 18 drove eight enemy missions in the Black Sea.
U 18 undertook a total of fourteen enemy voyages , during which five enemy ships with a total tonnage of 7,436 GRT were sunk and two ships with a total tonnage of 7,801 GRT were damaged.
Use statistics
First patrol
The boat left Memel on August 30, 1939 at 7:58 p.m. and entered Kiel on September 8, 1939 at 9:20 a.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this ten-day mission to monitor the Polish coast during the invasion of Poland in the Baltic Sea and Gdańsk Bay .
Second patrol
The boat left Kiel on September 14, 1939 at 11:00 a.m. and returned there on September 24, 1939 at 12:15 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this 11-day expedition in the North Sea .
Third patrol
The boat left Kiel on October 2, 1939 at 2:00 a.m. and returned there on October 19, 1939 at 8:08 a.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this 17-day expedition in the North Sea.
Fourth patrol
The boat was launched on November 15, 1939 at 1:45 pm from Kiel, and on 22 November 1939 at 12:00 in Wilhelmshaven one. On this eight-day operation on the British east coast, a ship with 345 GRT was sunk.
- November 18, 1939: Sinking of the British fishing liner Wigmore (345 GRT) ( location ) by a G7e torpedo . He came from Grimsby and was on his way to fishing in the North Sea . It was a total loss with 18 dead.
Fifth patrol
The boat left Kiel on January 18, 1940 at 10:40 p.m. and entered Wilhelmshaven on January 26, 1940 at 3:10 p.m. During this nine-day and 1,078 nm over and 71.4 nm underwater undertaking on the British east coast, a ship with 1,000 GRT was sunk.
- January 23, 1940: Sinking of the Norwegian steamer Bisp (1,000 GRT) ( location ) by a G7e torpedo. The Bisp sailed from Sunderland to Åndalsnes on January 20, 1940 and has since been considered lost.
Sixth patrol
The boat left Wilhelmshaven on February 11, 1940 at 5:40 a.m. and returned there on February 24, 1940 at 4:50 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged during this 14-day and approximately 1,350 nm above and 236 nm underwater undertaking on the British east coast.
Seventh patrol
The boat left Constanța on May 26, 1943 at 1:45 p.m. and returned there on June 9, 1943 at 4:05 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged during this 15-day, 1,511.2 nm above and 76.4 nm underwater expedition in the Black Sea .
Eighth patrol
The boat left Constanța on June 16, 1943 at 1:34 p.m. and returned there on July 22, 1943 at 9:15 a.m. On this 34-day operation in the Black Sea, two ships with 5,691 GRT were sunk.
- June 23, 1943: sinking of the Soviet steamer Leningrad (1,783 GRT) by two torpedoes. He had loaded unknown cargo and was on the way to Sochi .
- July 17, 1943: sinking of the Soviet steamer Voroshilov (3,908 GRT) by two torpedoes. He had loaded unknown cargo and was on the way to Sochi.
Ninth patrol
The boat left Constanța on August 21, 1943 at 1:30 p.m. and returned there on September 24, 1943 at 11:38 a.m. During this 35-day, 2,203.3 nm above and 632.4 nm underwater expedition in the Black Sea off the Caucasus coast, an auxiliary submarine hunter of 400 GRT was sunk and a submarine hunter of 56 t was damaged.
- August 29, 1943: Sinking of the Soviet auxiliary submarine hunter CCHTSCH-11 Jaluta (400 GRT) by a torpedo.
- August 30, 1943: Damage to the Soviet submarine hunter SKA-0132 (56 t) by machine gun fire.
Tenth patrol
The boat left Constanța on October 27, 1943 at 12:37 p.m. and returned there on November 24, 1943 at 11:45 a.m. A steamer with 7,745 GRT was damaged on this 28-day, 1,965.5 nm above and 438 nm underwater expedition in the Black Sea off the Caucasus coast.
- November 18, 1943: Damage to the Soviet steamer Josif Stalin (7,745 GRT) by two torpedoes.
Eleventh patrol
The boat left Constanța on January 29, 1944 at 1:00 p.m. and returned there on February 29, 1944 at 10:35 a.m. On this 32 day long and 1,965.2 nm above and 466.5 nm underwater expedition in the Black Sea off Batumi , a steamer was possibly sunk on February 16, 1944, but the loss was not confirmed.
Twelfth patrol
The boat left Constanța on March 25, 1944 at 1:00 a.m. and returned there on April 27, 1944 at 10:15 a.m. No ships were sunk during this 34-day, 1,509.5 nm above and 677 nm underwater operation in the Black Sea off the coast of the Caucasus. On April 7, 1944, an unidentified ship (according to the war diary : an "unknown guard") was shot at. Possibly it was the Soviet submarine fighter Rion W 187.4 that was damaged by machine gun fire. On April 25, 1944, U-18 was mistakenly attacked by a German BV-138 flying boat in the Black Sea, with minor damage.
Thirteenth patrol
The boat left Constanța on May 25, 1944 at 1:40 p.m. and returned there on June 7, 1944 at 9:20 a.m. On this 14 day long and 997.6 nm above and 235 nm underwater expedition in the Black Sea off the Caucasus coast, a tugboat with approx. 300 GRT on May 31, 1944 and a gunboat with approx Sunk June 1944, but not confirmed.
Fourteenth patrol
The boat left Constanța on July 24, 1944 at 2:00 p.m. and returned there on August 16, 1944. On this 24-day operation in the Black Sea off Poti , a Soviet freighter with approx. 1,500 GRT and a gunboat with approx. 200 GRT were possibly damaged. On August 11, 1944, a Soviet freighter with approx. 1,500 GRT and on August 13, 1944 another Soviet gunboat with approx. 200 GRT were sunk. All of these successes remained unconfirmed.
Whereabouts
On August 20, 1944, U 18 was badly damaged in a Soviet air raid in Constanța with U 9 and U 24 in the package lying at the pier . It was then no longer available for another use.
Due to the military situation at that time - Romania had declared war on August 23, 1944 - all floating units of the Kriegsmarine had to leave the port by August 25, 1944. U 18 left the base on 25 August 1944, its own resources and a demolition squad on board, accompanied by the Räumbootes R 163 for scuttling toward Tuzla / Mangalia. There it was sunk at position 44 ° 12 ' N , 28 ° 41' E. After the demolition the command was taken on board by R 163 in heavy seas and landed in the Bulgarian port of Varna . The crew themselves had previously been transferred from Constanța to Varna on a naval ferry and brought to safety.
At the end of 1944, the boat was salvaged by the average service of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet and transferred to Sevastopol . The restoration of U 18 was considered impossible because of irreparable damage . On February 14, 1945, it was decided to remove U 18 from the Soviet navy, but to moor it in Sevastopol. Only after a long layover was U 18 sunk on May 26, 1947 by the Soviet submarine M-120 southwest of Sevastopol together with U 24 at the position 44 ° 20 ′ N , 33 ° 20 ′ E by artillery fire.
literature
- Rudolf Arendt : Last command: sink. German submarines in the Black Sea 1942–1944. Memories of a submarine commander. Mittler, Hamburg et al. 1998, ISBN 3-8132-0543-6 .
- Gerd Enders: German submarines to the Black Sea. 1942-1944. A journey of no return. 2nd Edition. Mittler, Hamburg et al. 1998, ISBN 3-8132-0761-7 .
- Gerd Enders: Even small hedgehogs have spines. German submarines in the Black Sea. Koehler, Herford 1984, ISBN 3-7822-0334-8 .
- Wilhelm Schulz : Above the wet abyss. As commander and flotilla chief in submarine warfare (= Ullstein. 25724). Ullstein, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-548-25724-0 , p. 114 ff.
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://www.uboat.net/boats/u18.htm
- ↑ The salvage coordinates of the average commission of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet for U 18 from the end of 1944 on record in the Russian Naval War Archives have not yet been released for comparison.
Map with all coordinates: