| Career (Nazi Germany) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-1018 |
| Ordered: | 23 March 1942 |
| Builder: | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
| Laid down: | 16 April 1943 |
| Launched: | 1 March 1944 |
| Commissioned: | 24 April 1944 |
| Fate: | Sunk 27 February 1945 in the English Channel south of Penzance by depth charges from the British frigate HMS Loch Fada. 51 dead and 2 survivors. |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Type VIIC/41 submarine |
| Displacement: | 769 long tons (781 t) surfaced 871 long tons (885 t) submerged |
| Length: | 67.23 m (220 ft 7 in) o/a 50.9 m (167 ft 0 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: | 6.85 m (22 ft 6 in) o/a 5 m (16 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
| Draft: | 5 m (16 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × supercharged Germaniawerft, 6-cylinder, 4-stroke M6V 40/46 diesels totalling 2,800–3,200 hp (2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490 2 × electric motors, totalling 750 shp (560 kW) and max rpm: 296 |
| Speed: | 17.7 knots (20.4 mph; 32.8 km/h) surfaced 7.6 knots (8.7 mph; 14.1 km/h) submerged |
| Range: | 15,170 km (8,190 nmi) at 10 kn (19 km/h) surfaced 150 km (81 nmi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) Calculated crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft) |
| Complement: | 44-52 officers & ratings |
| Armament: | • 5 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) • 14 × torpedoes • 1 × C35 88mm gun/L45 deck gun (220 rounds) |
| Service record | |
| Part of: | Kriegsmarine: 31st U-boat Flotilla 11th U-boat Flotilla |
| Commanders: | Kptlt. Ulrich Faber (24 April 1944 – 1 June 1944) Kptlt. Walter Burmeister (2 June 1944 – 27 February 1945) |
| Operations: | 1 patrol, 21 January 1945 – 27 February 1945 |
| Victories: | 1 ship sunk for a total of 1,317 GRT |
German submarine U-1018 was a German Type VIIC/41 U-boat, built during World War II for service in the Battle of the Atlantic. The U-boat was fitted with the Schnorchel underwater-breathing apparatus which enabled her to stay under-water for extended periods thus avoiding detection by enemy warships.[1]
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She was completed in Hamburg in April 1944, and spent the rest of 1944 training with the 31st U-boat Flotilla. An accident took place during U-1018's work-up period in the Baltic on 17 June which killed one crew member (Obersteuermann Walter Nellsen) and wounded two.[2] In December 1944, she was moved from Kiel to Horten in Norway to join 11th U-boat Flotilla, before departing on 21 January 1945 to patrol the Western Approaches of the English Channel under the command of Kptlt. Walter Burmeister.[3]
On 27 February 1945 she attacked convoy BTC 81 about seven miles from Lizard Point, Cornwall (at ).[4] U-1018 launched a torpedo which hit the Norwegian freighter SS Corvus which sank within a few minutes,[5] resulting in the death of five of the freighter's Norwegian crew, a 16-year old British cabin boy, Thomas Boniface, and two British Royal Navy gunners, (part of the DEMS gun crew) including former professional footballer Charlie Sillett.[6]
The convoy escort ships immediately launched heavy counter-attacks. Less than two hours later, U-1018 was sunk by depth charges dropped by HMS Loch Fada under the command of Cdr. Benjamin Andrew Rogers, RD, RNR. Only two members of the crew of 53 survived.[2]