German submarine U-518

Career

Name:	U-518
Ordered:	14 February 1940
Builder:	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg
Yard number:	314
Laid down:	12 June 1941
Launched:	11 February 1942
Commissioned:	25 April 1942
Fate:	Sunk, 22 April 1945
General characteristics
Type:	Type IXC submarine
Displacement:	1,120 t (1,100 long tons) surfaced 1,232 t (1,213 long tons) submerged
Length:	76.8 m (252 ft 0 in) o/a 58.7 m (192 ft 7 in) pressure hull
Beam:	6.8 m (22 ft 4 in) o/a 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height:	9.4 m (30 ft 10 in)
Draft:	4.7 m (15 ft 5 in)
Propulsion:	2 × MAN M9V40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel engines, 4,400 hp (3,281 kW) 2 × SSW GU345/34 double-acting electric motors, 1,000 hp (746 kW)
Speed:	18.2 knots (33.7 km/h) surfaced 7.7 knots (14.3 km/h) submerged
Range:	24,880 nmi (46,080 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) surfaced 117 nmi (217 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged
Test depth:	230 m (750 ft)
Complement:	48 to 56
Armament:	• 6 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) • 22 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedoes • 1 × Utof 105 mm/45 deck gun (110 rounds) • AA guns

Service record^[1]^[2]
Part of:	4th U-boat Flotilla (25 April–30 September 1942) 2nd U-boat Flotilla (1 October 1942–31 October 1944) 33rd U-boat Flotilla (1 November 1944–22 April 1945)
Commanders:	FrgKpt. Hans-Günther Brachmann (25 April–18 August 1942) Kptlt. Friedrich-Wilhelm Wissmann (19 August 1942–13 January 1944) Oblt. Hans-Werner Offermann (13 January 1944–22 April 1945)
Operations:	1st patrol: 26 September–15 December 1942 2nd patrol: 11 January–27 April 1943 3rd patrol: 24 June–3 July 1943 4th patrol: 18 August–1 December 1943 5th patrol: 23 January–7 May 1944 6th patrol: 15 July–24 October 1944 7th patrol: 12 March–22 April 1945
Victories:	9 commercial ships sunk (55,747 GRT) 3 commercial ships damaged (22,616 GRT)

German submarine U-518 was a Type IXC U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II. She saw considerable early success during World War II from her launch in 11 February 1942 until she was sunk on 22 April 1945.^[3]

1 Combat record
2 References
3 External links
4 See also

Combat record

U-518 had a crew of 56, and was commanded by Hans-Werner Offermann. It departed on ten active patrols, with the following results;

First patrol

On 2 November 1942: Sank the British 5,633 ton PLM 27, at Bell Island, Newfoundland
On 2 November 1942: Sank the Canadian 7,803 ton Rose Castle, at Bell Island, Newfoundland
On 21 November 1942: Sank the British 6,140 ton Empire Sailor, sailing with convoy ON-145, damaged the British 6,997 ton British Renown, a member of convoy ON-145 and damaged the British 8,443 ton British Promise, part of convoy ON-145
On 23 November 1942: Sank the American 10,172 ton Caddo

Second patrol

14 February 1943: Came under attack from unidentified Allied aircraft, with minimal damage
18 February 1943: Sank the Brazilian 6,075 ton Brasiloide
1 March 1943: Sank the American 7,176 ton liberty ship SS FitzJohn Porter, from convoy BT-6
20 March 1943: Sank the Dutch 7,659 ton Mariso
25th Mar 1943: Sank the Swedish 1,688 ton Industria

Third patrol

27 June 1943: U-518 came under attack from a Sunderland of No. 201 Squadron RAF, suffering massive damage, returning fire with anti-aircraft deck gun, without downing the aircraft
30 June 1943: U-518 came under attack from an RAAF squadron, suffering minor damage, defending itself again with anti-aircraft deck gun, without destroying the aircraft

Fourth patrol

Spent fifteen weeks on patrol, between 18 August and 1 December 1943, with no results

Fifth patrol

7 March 1944: Sank the Panamanian 3,401 ton Valera

Sixth patrol

Non-active Patrol, traveling from port to port, lasted from 4–10 July 1944, with no results

Seventh patrol

12 September 1944: Damaged the American ship 7,176 ton George Ade

Eighth patrol

Spent from 25–28 October 1944, between ports, Non-active patrol, with no results

Ninth patrol

Non-active patrol from 5–10 March 1945, with no results

Tenth and final patrol

Departed port on 12 March 1945. U-518 was sunk in the North Atlantic, northwest of the Azores, by depth charges from the destroyer escorts USS Carter and Neal A. Scott on 22 April 1945. There were no survivors from her crew of 56.

References

Notes

^ "The Type IXC boat U-518 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/u518.htm. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
^ "War Patrols by German U-boat U-518 - Boats - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/patrols/u518.html. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
^ "U-Boat Operations". ubootwaffe.net. http://ubootwaffe.net/ops/boat.cgi?boat=518. Retrieved 26 February 2010.

Bibliography

- Le abbuffate del sottomarino tedesco U-518 - 1965 1976 1987 1998 2009 2020 2031 2042 2053 2064

External links

U-518 at u-boot-archiv.de (German)