U-18

Type

IIB

 
Ordered2 Feb 1935
Laid down10 Jul 1935 F. Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel (werk 548)
Launched7 Dec 1935
Commissioned4 Jan 1936Kptlt. Hans Pauckstadt
Commanders
4 Jan 1936 - 20 Nov 1936   Hans Pauckstadt
30 Sep 1937 - 31 Oct 1937  Kptlt. Heinz Beduhn
1 Nov 1937 - 24 Nov 1939  Kptlt. Max-Hermann Bauer
24 Nov 1939 - 2 Sep 1940  Oblt. Ernst Mengersen (Knights Cross)
3 Sep 1940 - 17 Dec 1940  Kptlt. Hans-Heinz Linder
18 Dec 1940 - 6 May 1941  Kptlt. Ernst Vogelsang
7 May 1941 - 31 May 1942  Oblt. Hans-Achim von Rosenberg-Gruszcynski
1 Jun 1942 - 18 Aug 1942  Oblt. Friedrich-Wilhelm Wissmann
3 Dec 1942 - 25 Aug 1944  Oblt. Karl Fleige (Knights Cross)
2 May 1944 - 25 May 1944  Oblt. Hans-Jürgen Bartsch
25 May 1944 - 7 Jun 1944  Oblt. Rudolf Arendt
22 Dec 1944 - 6 Feb 1945  Oblt. Friedrich Baumgärtel
Career
14 patrols
4 Jan 1936-20 Nov 1936  1. Flottille (front boat)
30 Sep 1937-1 Aug 1939  3. Flottille (front boat)
1 Sep 1939-1 Nov 1939  3. Flottille (front boat)
1 Nov 1939-1 Mar 1940  U-Ausbildungsflottille (front boat)
1 Apr 1940-1 Jun 1940  1. U-Ausbildungsflottille (training)
1 Jul 1940-17 Dec 1940  24. Flottille (training)
6 May 1943-25 Aug 1944  30. Flottille (front boat)
Successes2 ships sunk for a total of 1,500 GRT
1 auxiliary warship sunk for a total of 400 GRT
1 ship damaged for a total of 7,745 GRT
1 warship damaged for a total of 56 tons
Fate

Scuttled on 25 Aug, 1944 at Konstanza, Black Sea, in position 44.12N, 28.41E.

See the 5 ships hit by U-18 - View the 14 war patrols

Sank at 0954hrs on 20 Nov, 1936 in Lübeck Bay in position 54.07N, 11.07E, after a collision with T 156. 8 died but 12 survived. Raised on 28 Nov, 1936. In service again on 30 Sept 1937.

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

Men lost from U-boats

Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-18 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.


We have an emblem for this boat!

You can view it here. (The emblem on the left is not the emblem for this boat).



U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2
Wynn, Kenneth


Buy this title at


amazon.com
See more sellers

Books dealing with this subject include:

German U-Boat Losses During World War II. Niestle, Axel, 1998.
Hitler's U-boat War. Blair, Clay, 1996.
Hitler's U-boat War, Vol II. Blair, Clay, 1998.
Okrety plyna po ladzie. Piwowoñski, Jan, 1959.
U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 1. Wynn, Kenneth, 1998.
U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2. Wynn, Kenneth, 1998.
Vom U-Boot-Offizier zum passionierten Jäger. Deutschmann, Fritz, 1996.


There was another U-18 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 25 Apr 1912 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 17 Nov 1912. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 18 during WWI.