U 218

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U 218
( all submarines )
Type : VII D
Shipyard: Germania shipyard , Kiel
Construction contract: September 25, 1939
Keel laying: March 17, 1941
Launch: December 5, 1941
Commissioning: January 24, 1942
Commanders:
  • Lieutenant Richard Becker (January 24, 1942 - August 1944)
  • Captain Rupprecht Stock (August 1944 - May 8, 1945)
Calls: 10 patrols
Sinkings:

2

Whereabouts: in the Dec. 4, 1945 Operation Deadlight sunk

U 218 was a German submarine of class VII D in World War II . It was launched on January 25, 1942 and sank on December 4, 1945.

description

U 218 was of the type VIID and thus a heavy mine-laying boat . Its top speed was 16.7 knots, which corresponds to a speed of around 31 km / h. It was 76.9 meters long and 6.4 meters high and could dive up to 220 meters deep. It weighed around 1080 tons and had a crew of 4 officers and up to 40 men. A total of 110 men served on board U 218.

Commissioned by the Reich government in 1940, it was not completed until December 5, 1941. Built by the Germania shipyard in Kiel , it was launched there too. On December 4, 1945 it sank in the course of the British-Polish " Operation Deadlight " in tow of the British destroyer HMS Southdowne 20 km off the Irish coast.

Ventures

U 218 was underway ten times during the war and sank two merchant ships and an auxiliary warship. In addition, a merchant ship and an auxiliary warship (mine) were damaged

Company 1

U 218 left Kristiansand on August 27, 1942 for the North Atlantic. It belonged to the 'Submarine Group Forward' under Kapitänleutnant Richard Becker. East of Newfoundland it damaged the Norwegian merchant ship "Fjordaas" on September 11, 1942. It had to end the company early because of machine damage. It returned to Brest on September 29, 1942 . The first trip therefore lasted 33 days and the boat covered 5165 nm (9566 km).

Company 2

The second trip, also under Lieutenant Becker, lasted 26 days (October 25 to November 21, 1942). The boat covered a distance of 4083 nm (7562 km). The boat operated between Cape Vincent and Gibraltar . Without damaging ships, it had to return early due to water bomb damage. This time it was under the Westwall and Natter submarine groups.

Company 3

No ships were sunk during the third voyage (7 January to 10 March 1943) under Kapitänleutnant Becker. During the 61-day operation, it traveled 16,481 km (8899 nm) west of the Canary Islands and south of the Azores (U-boat group Rochen).

Company 4

No ships were damaged, but a submarine was supplied (U 459). During the 43 days it covered 4380 nm (8112 km). On April 19, 1943, one day after the start of the operation, U 218 had to return to Brest due to a defective subsurface rudder. It then laid 15 mines in the North Canal and then operated in the North Atlantic (submarine groups Naab, Mosel and Danube 2).

Company 5

The shortest operation of U 218 lasted only nine days, from July 22, 1943 to August 6, 1943 with an interruption of six days due to leaks. It was damaged by an air raid in the Bay of Biscay and had to return.

Company 6

On September 19, 1943, U 218 cast off from Brest to cover 16,783 km at sea in the following 79 days. The operational areas were first the Caribbean Sea northeast of Barbados, then as a mine-layer at the Port of Spain and finally at the St. Lucia Passage south of the Azores. The British merchant ship "Beatrice Beck" was sunk on this voyage. It arrived in Brest on December 8, 1943.

Company 7

This 85-day journey began on February 12, 1944 in Brest. During the operation, the boat covered 9595 nm (17,946 km) in the mid-Atlantic. His route ran through Brest, Azores, Lesser Antilles, Barbados, St. Lucia, Martinique, Grenada, Port Castries, Trinidad and Puerto Rico, before laying 15 mines off San Juan. Without damaging a ship, it returned to Brest on May 7, 1944. There U 218 was then equipped with a snorkeling system.

Company 8

After operating on the invasion front, in the English Channel and in the Bay of Biscay, U 218 laid 15 mines off Wolfs Rock, damaging the British auxiliary warship "HMS Empire Halberd". The undertaking lasted 25 days and the boat covered 1101 nm (2039 km), but this time mostly under water.

Company 9

During this 43 day voyage, U 218 laid 15 mines off Lizzard Head after operating in the western English Channel. On August 11, 1944, it had to return to Brest because it was attacked by a British speedboat. After 2236 nm (4141 km) it entered Bergen (Norway). No ships were damaged. This was the first voyage under Lieutenant Rupprecht Stock.

Company 10

The boat was previously moved from Bergen to Kristiansand. U 218 laid 14 mines off the Firth of Clyde , which also sank the British merchant ship "Ethel Crawford". The trip lasted 47 days and the boat also operated in the Minch Canal, the North Canal and the Hebrides. It reached Bergen on May 8, 1945. That was the last run of the U 218.

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