Events on this day
18 May
This is a run-down from several databases on our site. It's meant to give a clear picture of events on this date, all year round.
U-boat Shipyard report
Ordered (0) | Laid down (4) | Launched (2) | Commissioned (1) |
No U-boat orders on this date | 1940: U-451, U-757, U-758 1942: U-718 | 1940: U-137, U-138 | 1944: U-907 |
These are commissioned boats. For more see our Shipyard pages. |
Allied Ships hit on this date
U-boat | Commander | Name of ship | Tons | Country | Convoy | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1941 | |||||||
U-107 | Hessler | Piako | 8,286 | br | |||
1942 | |||||||
U-125 | Folkers | Mercury Sun | 8,893 | am | |||
U-125 | Folkers | William J. Salman | 2,616 | am | |||
U-156 | Hartenstein | Quaker City | 4,961 | am | |||
U-156 | Hartenstein | San Eliseo (d) | 8,042 | br | |||
U-162 | Wattenberg | Beth | 6,852 | nw | |||
U-558 | Krech | Fauna | 1,254 | nl | |||
U-588 | Vogel | Fort Binger (d) | 5,671 | br | ONS-92 | ||
1943 | |||||||
U-414 | Huth | Empire Eve | 5,979 | br | KMS-14 | ||
U-414 | Huth | Fort Anne (d) | 7,134 | br | KMS-14 | ||
59,688 | |||||||
* Unless otherwise noted the ships listed here were sunk. (d) = damaged See all Allied ships hit by U-boats during WWII. |
Attacks on this day
1943
U-405. NW of Finisterre, inbound: the boat was bombed by Australian Sunderland flying boat S for Sugar of RAAF Sqdn 10. No damage. (Rohwer)
1944
U-241. Aircraft attack, aircraft shot down:
British Catalina aircraft FP121 (333 Sqdn RAF/C, pilot S/Lt Harald E. Hartmann)
00.07 hrs, approx. 125 miles west of Ă…lesund, Norway: four days out from Bergen, U-241 was attacked by the Norwegian-crewed Catalina. Flak hits to the aircraft during the attack run apparently caused the depth charges to miss, but U-241 was sunk by another Catalina a few hours later. The starboard waist gunner was killed (Pty/O Kyrre D. Berg) and a large hole in the hull forced the pilot to beach the Catalina after landing on the River Tay, damaging it beyond repair.
(Axel Niestlé)U-boats lost
1944: U-241 +
51 men died when this U-boat was lost. There were no survivors.
U-boats marked with + were lost with all hands.
- For more information on U-boat losses check out our Fates section.
U-boat Men Lost or Wounded
There were no men lost from U-boats on this date, 18 May.
- For more information on Men lost from U-boats check out this page.
Personnel Information
The following men were born on this day:
Fritz Fabricius (1919), Johannes Franz (1907), Franz Gramitzky (1916), Hans-Dieter Heinicke (1913), Kurt Hilbig (1919), Robert Kindelbacher (1915).
The following men died on this day:
Hermann Lamby (1998), Arno Werr (1944).
See the entire U-boat commander listing showing all U-boat commanders.
We might include more officers (Allied and Axis) at a later date.
U-boat departures and arrivals on 18 May
This section shows the U-boat departures and arrivals from bases on this day of the year. Current country names shown with harbour names. Boats entering port display days at sea during that patrol.
1940
Sailed:
From Kiel, Germany: U-60, U-62
U-boats entering base:
To Kiel, Germany: U-7 (12 days)
1941
U-boats entering base:
To Kiel, Germany: U-143 (6 days)
To Lorient, France: U-201 (27 days)
1942
Sailed:
From Kiel, Germany: U-153, U-214
From La Pallice: U-373
From Lorient, France: U-157 (lost 27 days later)
From Pola: U-559
U-boats entering base:
To St. Nazaire, France: U-437 (20 days)
1943
Sailed:
From Brest, France: U-214, U-409
From Hammerfest, Norway: U-703
From Kiel, Germany: U-488
From Lorient, France: U-513 (lost 63 days later)
From Toulon, France: U-755 (lost 11 days later)
U-boats entering base:
To Lorient, France: U-168 (71 days)
1944
Sailed:
From Bergen, Norway: U-394, U-995, U-997
From Brest, France: U-764
From Kiel, Germany: U-247, U-290, U-480, U-921, U-980, U-1000, U-1061, U-1165
From Kristiansand: U-675 (lost 7 days later)
From Larvik: U-292
From Toulon, France: U-471
U-boats entering base:
To Bogenbucht U-965 (5 days)
To Singapur U-532 (2 days)
To Skjomenfjord U-668 (5 days), U-742 (5 days)
1945
Sailed:
From Lerwick, UK: U-363
U-boats entering base:
To Lerwick, UK U-363 (4 days)
U-boats at sea on 18 May
Boats entering port on this day are not counted, but boats departing for patrol are. (+) indicates the boat was lost during this patrol.
1940
U-9, U-37, U-43, U-60, U-62, U-122.
6 boats at sea.
1941
U-38, U-43, U-46, U-66, U-69, U-74, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-97, U-98, U-103, U-105, U-106, U-107, U-109, U-111, U-138, U-556, U-557, UA.
21 boats at sea.
1942
U-66, U-68, U-69, U-81, U-83, U-86, U-89, U-94, U-96, U-98, U-103, U-106, U-107, U-108, U-109, U-116, U-124, U-125, U-126, U-128, U-130, U-135, U-136, U-153, U-155, U-156, U-157 (+), U-158 (+), U-159, U-161, U-162, U-172, U-201, U-205, U-209, U-213, U-214, U-331, U-333, U-373, U-402, U-404, U-406, U-431, U-432, U-436, U-455, U-502 (+), U-504, U-506, U-507, U-553, U-558, U-559, U-564, U-565, U-566, U-569, U-578, U-582, U-586, U-588, U-590, U-591, U-593, U-594, U-653, U-654, U-703, U-751, U-752, U-753.
72 boats at sea.
1943
U-66, U-67 (+), U-91, U-92, U-103, U-105 (+), U-107, U-119 (+), U-123, U-126 (+), U-129, U-154, U-161, U-177, U-178, U-180, U-181, U-190, U-195, U-196, U-197 (+), U-198, U-199 (+), U-202 (+), U-211, U-214, U-217 (+), U-218, U-221, U-223, U-228, U-229, U-230, U-231, U-232 (+), U-251, U-258 (+), U-260, U-262, U-264, U-267, U-273 (+), U-304 (+), U-305, U-336, U-340, U-354, U-359, U-377, U-378, U-383, U-402, U-403, U-405, U-407, U-409, U-413, U-414 (+), U-418 (+), U-436 (+), U-448, U-454, U-459, U-460, U-461, U-466, U-468, U-488, U-504, U-511, U-513 (+), U-514, U-515, U-521 (+), U-525, U-527 (+), U-533, U-552, U-558 (+), U-561, U-569 (+), U-575, U-584, U-603, U-607, U-608, U-614, U-621, U-625, U-628, U-634, U-636, U-639, U-641, U-642, U-645, U-648, U-650, U-662, U-664, U-666, U-707, U-709, U-731, U-752 (+), U-755 (+), U-760, U-951 (+), U-952, U-953, U-954 (+).
111 boats at sea.
1944
U-9, U-23, U-24, U-107, U-129, U-155, U-170, U-178, U-181, U-183, U-188, U-190, U-196, U-198 (+), U-230, U-267, U-289 (+), U-347, U-362, U-365, U-385, U-425, U-453 (+), U-471, U-477 (+), U-490 (+), U-505, U-516, U-534, U-537, U-539, U-541, U-543 (+), U-547, U-548, U-549 (+), U-586, U-667, U-675 (+), U-736, U-737, U-764, U-843, U-853, U-857, U-859 (+), U-860 (+), U-861, U-952, U-955 (+), U-957, U-960 (+), U-995, U-1060, U-1222 (+).
55 boats at sea.
1945
U-234, U-530, U-963, U-977, U-979 (+), U-1277 (+), U-3008.
7 boats at sea.
General Events on 18 May
1940
U-9 encountered an enemy submarine in the North Sea, but neither boat attacked.
1941
U-126 was severely damaged in a collision with the submarine depot ship Seeburg in Danzig Bay.
1943
U-103 rescued two survivors from Fort Concord, sunk one week previously by U-456.
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Add more events! - If you know of an interesting event that happened on this day that's missing, or an upcoming event that you'd like to share, please contact us. We already have 782 entries that will appear in due course, so your suggestion may not appear immediately, but we are continuously updating the database.