German submarine U-18 (1935)

	U-18 being re-assembled at Galați, Romania
History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-18
Ordered	2 February 1935
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel ; Galați shipyard, Romania ;
Yard number	548
Laid down	10 July 1935
Launched	7 December 1935
Commissioned	4 January 1936
Fate	Scuttled 25 August 1944 at Constanţa in the Black Sea
General characteristics
Class and type	Type IIB coastal submarine
Displacement	279 t (275 long tons) surfaced; 328 t (323 long tons) submerged;
Length	42.70 m (140 ft 1 in) o/a ; 27.80 m (91 ft 2 in) pressure hull ;
Beam	4.08 m (13 ft 5 in) (o/a); 4.00 m (13 ft 1 in) (pressure hull);
Height	8.60 m (28 ft 3 in)
Draught	3.90 m (12 ft 10 in)
Installed power	700 PS (510 kW; 690 bhp) (diesels); 410 PS (300 kW; 400 shp) (electric);
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 × diesel engines ; 2 × electric motors ;
Speed	13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) surfaced; 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) submerged;
Range	1,800 nmi (3,300 km; 2,100 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced; 35–43 nmi (65–80 km; 40–49 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged;
Test depth	80 m (260 ft)
Complement	3 officers, 22 men
Armament	3 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes ; 5 × torpedoes or up to 12 TMA or 18 TMB mines ; 1 × 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun ;
Service record
Part of:	1st U-boat Flotilla ; 4 January – 20 November 1936; 3rd U-boat Flotilla ; 30 September 1937 – 1 August 1939; 1 September – 1 November 1939; U-boat Training Flotilla ; 1 November 1939 – 1 March 1940; 1st U-boat Training Flotilla ; 1 April 1939 – 1 June 1940; 24th U-boat Flotilla ; 1 July – 17 December 1940; 22nd U-boat Flotilla ; 18 December 1940 – 18 August 1942; 30th U-boat Flotilla ; 6 May 1943 – 25 August 1944;
Identification codes:	M 23 452
Commanders:	Oblt.z.S. / Kptlt. Hans Pauckstadt ; 4 January – 20 November 1936; Kptlt. Heinz Beduhn ; 30 September – 31 October 1937; Oblt.z.S. / Kptlt. Max-Hermann Bauer ; 1 November 1937 – 24 November 1939; Oblt.z.S. Ernst Mengersen ; 24 November 1939 – 2 September 1940; Oblt.z.S. / Kptlt. Hans-Heinz Linder ; 3 September – 17 December 1940; Kptlt. Ernst Vogelsang ; 18 December 1940 – 6 May 1941; Lt.z.S. / Oblt.z.S. Hans-Achim von Rosenberg-Gruszcynski ; 7 May 1941 – 31 May 1942; Oblt.z.S. Friedrich-Wilhelm Wissmann ; 1 June – 18 August 1942; Oblt.z.S. Karl Fleige ; 6 May 1943 – 1 May 1944; Oblt.z.S. Hans-Jürgen Bartsch ; 2 – 25 May 1944; Oblt.z.S. Rudolf Arendt ; 25 May – 7 June 1944; Oblt.z.S. Karl Fleige; 8 June – 25 August 1944;
Operations:	14 patrols; 1st patrol:; a. 30 August – 7 September 1939; b. 8 September 1939; 2nd patrol:; 14 – 24 September 1939; 3rd patrol:; 2 – 19 October 1939; 4th patrol:; 15 – 23 November 1939; 5th patrol:; 18 – 26 January 1940; 6th patrol:; a. 11 – 24 February 1940; b. 27 – 28 February 1940; 7th patrol:; 26 May – 9 June 1943; 8th patrol:; a. 16 – 29 June 1943; b. 3 – 22 July 1943; 9th patrol:; 21 August – 24 September 1943; 10th patrol:; 27 October – 24 November 1943 ; 11th patrol:; 29 January – 29 February 1944; 12th patrol:; 25 March – 27 April 1944; 13th patrol:; 25 May – 7 June 1944; 14th patrol:; 24 July – 16 August 1944;
Victories:	2 merchant ships sunk ; (1,500 GRT); 1 auxiliary warship sunk ; (400 GRT); 1 merchant ship damaged ; (7,745 GRT); 1 warship damaged ; (56 tons);

Last updated February 20, 2024

German submarine U-18 was a Type IIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. It was laid down 10 July 1935 and commissioned on 4 January 1936. It served in many U-boat flotillas during its service.

Design

German Type IIB submarines were enlarged versions of the original Type IIs. U-18 had a displacement of 279 tonnes (275 long tons) when at the surface and 328 tonnes (323 long tons) while submerged. Officially, the standard tonnage was 250 long tons (250 t), however.^[2] The U-boat had a total length of 42.70 m (140 ft 1 in), a pressure hull length of 28.20 m (92 ft 6 in), a beam of 4.08 m (13 ft 5 in), a height of 8.60 m (28 ft 3 in), and a draught of 3.90 m (12 ft 10 in). The submarine was powered by two MWM RS 127 S four-stroke, six-cylinder diesel engines of 700 metric horsepower (510 kW; 690 shp) for cruising, two Siemens-Schuckert PG VV 322/36 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 460 metric horsepower (340 kW; 450 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 0.85 m (3 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 80–150 metres (260–490 ft).^[2]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph).^[2] When submerged, the boat could operate for 35–42 nautical miles (65–78 km; 40–48 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 3,800 nautical miles (7,000 km; 4,400 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph). U-18 was fitted with three 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes at the bow, five torpedoes or up to twelve Type A torpedo mines, and a 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of twenty-five.^[2]

Fate

While a training boat, U-18 sank at 0954 hrs on 20 November 1936 in Lübeck Bay, after a collision with T-156. Eight men died and 12 survived. It was raised on 28 November 1936. It returned to service on 30 September 1937. On 3 September 1939 it attacked a Polish submarine, most probably ORP_Sęp, but missed.^[3] Starting late 1942 she served in the 30th U-boat Flotilla, after being transported in sections along the Danube to the Romanian port of Galați. She was then re-assembled by the Romanians at the Galați shipyard and sent to the Black Sea.^[4]

On 20 August 1944, in a Soviet air raid on the Romanian harbor of Constanţa in the Black Sea, U-18 was damaged and as a result was deemed not seaworthy and was scuttled on the 25th.^[1]

The boat was raised by the USSR in late 1944. It was sunk for target practice by the Soviet submarine M-120 on 26 May 1947 off Sevastopol (also sunk that day was the former U-24).

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage^{[Note 1]}	Fate^[5]
18 November 1939	Parkhill	United Kingdom	500	Sunk
24 January 1940	Bisp	Norway	1,000	Sunk
29 August 1943	TSC-11 Dzhalita	Soviet Navy	400	Sunk
30 August 1943	SKA-0132	Soviet Navy	56	Damaged
18 November 1943	Josif Stalin	Soviet Union	7,745	Damaged

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References

Notes

↑ Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

Citations

1 2 Kemp 1999, p. 215.
1 2 3 4 Gröner 1991, pp. 39–40.
↑ Bartelski, Jan (2014). "Nieudane ataki torpedowe U-Bootów na ORP Sęp". Morze, Statki i Okręty (in Polish). No. 9-10/2014 (148). Warsaw. p. 24. ISSN 1426-529X.
↑ Steel and Ice: The U-boat Battle in the Arctic and Black Sea 1941-45, Chapter 5 - The Black Sea: War in the South 1942-43, page 5
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-18". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 4 February 2014.

Bibliography

Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945[German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
Kemp, Paul (1999). U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.

External links

Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IIB boat U-18". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
Hofmann, Markus. "U 18". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 2014-12-06.
"U-boat Archive - U-boat KTB - U-18 1st War Patrol" . Retrieved 2017-04-13.

44°12′N28°41′E / 44.200°N 28.683°E / 44.200; 28.683

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[tonnage-5] Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

[FOOTNOTEKemp1999215-1] 1 2 Kemp 1999, p. 215.

[FOOTNOTEGröner199139–40-2] 1 2 3 4 Gröner 1991, pp. 39–40.

[bart-3] Bartelski, Jan (2014). "Nieudane ataki torpedowe U-Bootów na ORP Sęp". Morze, Statki i Okręty (in Polish). No. 9-10/2014 (148). Warsaw. p. 24. ISSN 1426-529X.

[4] Steel and Ice: The U-boat Battle in the Arctic and Black Sea 1941-45, Chapter 5 - The Black Sea: War in the South 1942-43, page 5

[6] Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-18". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 4 February 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[Note 1]

[5]

v t e German Type II submarines
Type IIA	U-1 U-2 U-3 U-4 U-5 U-6
Type IIB	U-7 U-8 U-9 U-10 U-11 U-12 U-13 U-14 U-15 U-16 U-17 U-18 U-19 U-20 U-21 U-22 U-23 U-24 U-120 U-121
Type IIC	U-56 U-57 U-58 U-59 U-60 U-61 U-62 U-63
Type IID	U-137 U-138 U-139 U-140 U-141 U-142 U-143 U-144 U-145 U-146 U-147 U-148 U-149 U-150 U-151 U-152
Preceded by: Type I Followed by: Type VII List of U-boats of Germany

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in August 1944
Shipwrecks	2 Aug: USS Fiske 3 Aug: HMS Quorn 4 Aug: Tannenfels, Matsu 5 Aug: Mefküre, U-671 6 Aug: Empire City, Sachsenwald, Thétis, U-471, U-736, U-952, U-969, V 215 Oliva 7 Aug: Amsterdam, Empire Day, Nagara 8 Aug: Conte Verde, HMCS Regina, Tama Maru No. 6, V 404 Falke 9 Aug: Spichern 10 Aug: U-608 11 Aug: U-385, U-967 12 Aug: T-114, T-118, U-198, U-981, V 410 Germania 13 Aug: USS Flier, U-270, V 1101 Preußsen 14 Aug: Gueydon, U-618 15 Aug: U-741 16 Aug: Trémintin 18 Aug: La Galissonnière, Natori, Strasbourg, Taiyō, Teia Maru, U-107, U-129, U-621, V 406 Hans Loh 19 Aug: Commandant Teste, Hayasui, Tamatsu Maru , U-123, U-466, V-6112 Friese 20 Aug: Richard Montgomery, U-9, U-413, U-984, U-1229. V 409 August Bösch 21 Aug: HMCS Alberni, HMS Kite, HMS Orchis, U-230, V 402 Dr. Adolf Spilker, Z23 22 Aug: HMS Bickerton, HMS Loyalty, Matsuwa, Tsushima Maru , U-344, V 401 Jan Mayen, V 405 J. Hinrich Wilhelms, V 413 Ferdinand Niedermeyer 23 Aug: Asakaze, U-180 24 Aug: USS Harder, NMS Mihail Kogălniceanu, U-354, U-445, Z37 25 Aug: Sperrbrecher 136 , U-18, U-24, U-178, U-667, UIT-21, Yūnagi, Z24 26 Aug: Samidare, U-188, V 404 Baden, V 411 Saarland 27 Aug: HMS Britomart, Clemenceau, HMS Hussar 28 Aug: John Barry, V 407 Dorum 30 Aug: De Grasse, M553 31 Aug: Shirataka Unknown date: Condorcet, Marechal Petain, U-925
Other incidents	4 Aug: Maycrest 15 Aug: LST-404 16 Aug: USS S-38 18 Aug: U-1054 20 Aug: Daronia 22 Aug: HMS Nabob 27 Aug: USS Pollack 31 Aug: U-1000
1943 1944 1945 July 1944 September 1944

History
U-18 being re-assembled at Galați, Romania
Nazi Germany
Name	U-18
Ordered	2 February 1935
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel Galați shipyard, Romania
Yard number	548
Laid down	10 July 1935
Launched	7 December 1935
Commissioned	4 January 1936
Fate	Scuttled 25 August 1944 at Constanţa in the Black Sea ^[1]
General characteristics
Class and type	Type IIB coastal submarine
Displacement	279 t (275 long tons) surfaced 328 t (323 long tons) submerged
Length	42.70 m (140 ft 1 in) o/a 27.80 m (91 ft 2 in) pressure hull
Beam	4.08 m (13 ft 5 in) (o/a) 4.00 m (13 ft 1 in) (pressure hull)
Height	8.60 m (28 ft 3 in)
Draught	3.90 m (12 ft 10 in)
Installed power	700 PS (510 kW; 690 bhp) (diesels) 410 PS (300 kW; 400 shp) (electric)
Propulsion	2 shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Speed	13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) surfaced 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) submerged
Range	1,800 nmi (3,300 km; 2,100 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced 35–43 nmi (65–80 km; 40–49 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	80 m (260 ft)
Complement	3 officers, 22 men
Armament	3 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes 5 × torpedoes or up to 12 TMA or 18 TMB mines 1 × 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun
Service record
Part of:	1st U-boat Flotilla 4 January – 20 November 1936 3rd U-boat Flotilla 30 September 1937 – 1 August 1939 1 September – 1 November 1939 U-boat Training Flotilla 1 November 1939 – 1 March 1940 1st U-boat Training Flotilla 1 April 1939 – 1 June 1940 24th U-boat Flotilla 1 July – 17 December 1940 22nd U-boat Flotilla 18 December 1940 – 18 August 1942 30th U-boat Flotilla 6 May 1943 – 25 August 1944
Identification codes:	M 23 452
Commanders:	Oblt.z.S. / Kptlt. Hans Pauckstadt 4 January – 20 November 1936 Kptlt. Heinz Beduhn 30 September – 31 October 1937 Oblt.z.S. / Kptlt. Max-Hermann Bauer 1 November 1937 – 24 November 1939 Oblt.z.S. Ernst Mengersen 24 November 1939 – 2 September 1940 Oblt.z.S. / Kptlt. Hans-Heinz Linder 3 September – 17 December 1940 Kptlt. Ernst Vogelsang 18 December 1940 – 6 May 1941 Lt.z.S. / Oblt.z.S. Hans-Achim von Rosenberg-Gruszcynski 7 May 1941 – 31 May 1942 Oblt.z.S. Friedrich-Wilhelm Wissmann 1 June – 18 August 1942 Oblt.z.S. Karl Fleige 6 May 1943 – 1 May 1944 Oblt.z.S. Hans-Jürgen Bartsch 2 – 25 May 1944 Oblt.z.S. Rudolf Arendt 25 May – 7 June 1944 Oblt.z.S. Karl Fleige 8 June – 25 August 1944
Operations:	14 patrols 1st patrol: a. 30 August – 7 September 1939 b. 8 September 1939 2nd patrol: 14 – 24 September 1939 3rd patrol: 2 – 19 October 1939 4th patrol: 15 – 23 November 1939 5th patrol: 18 – 26 January 1940 6th patrol: a. 11 – 24 February 1940 b. 27 – 28 February 1940 7th patrol: 26 May – 9 June 1943 8th patrol: a. 16 – 29 June 1943 b. 3 – 22 July 1943 9th patrol: 21 August – 24 September 1943 10th patrol: 27 October – 24 November 1943 11th patrol: 29 January – 29 February 1944 12th patrol: 25 March – 27 April 1944 13th patrol: 25 May – 7 June 1944 14th patrol: 24 July – 16 August 1944
Victories:	2 merchant ships sunk (1,500 GRT) 1 auxiliary warship sunk (400 GRT) 1 merchant ship damaged (7,745 GRT) 1 warship damaged (56 tons)