German submarine U-318
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-318 |
| Ordered: | 14 October 1942 |
| Builder: | Flender Werke, Lübeck |
| Yard number: | 318 |
| Laid down: | 14 October 1942 |
| Launched: | 25 September 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 13 November 1943 |
| Fate: | Surrendered, May 1945; sunk December 1945 as part of Operation Deadlight |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Type VIIC/41 submarine |
| Displacement: | 759 tonnes (747 long tons) surfaced 860 t (846 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a 50.5 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: | 6.2 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
| Draft: | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × supercharged Germaniawerft 6-cylinder 4-stroke F46 diesel engines, totalling 2,800–3,200 bhp (2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490 2 × GL RP 137/c electric motors, totalling 750 shp (560 kW) and max rpm: 296. |
| Speed: | 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged |
| Range: | 8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged |
| Test depth: | 250 m (820 ft) Crush depth: 275–325 m (902–1,066 ft) |
| Complement: | 44–52 officers and ratings |
| Armament: |
|
| Service record[1][2] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
4th U-boat Flotilla (13 November–31 July 1943) 11th U-boat Flotilla (1 August 1943–4 November 1944) 13th U-boat Flotilla (5 November 1944–28 February 1945) 14th U-boat Flotilla (1 March–8 May 1945) |
| Commanders: |
Oblt.z.S. Josef Will (13 November 1943–8 May 1945) |
| Operations: |
1st patrol: a. 31 October–31 October 1944 b. 31 October–9 November 1944 2nd patrol: 18 November–19 December 1944 3rd patrol: 7–10 January 1945 4th patrol: a. 1–2 February 1945 b. 3 February–6 March 1945 5th patrol: 14–24 March 1945 6th patrol: 1–10 May 1945 |
| Victories: | None |
German submarine U-318 was a Type VIIC/41 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
The submarine was laid down on 14 October 1942 by the Flender Werke yard at Lübeck as yard number 318, launched on 25 September 1943, and commissioned on 13 November under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Josef Will.
She served with the 4th U-boat Flotilla for training, the 11th U-boat Flotilla from 1 August 1943 to 4 November 1944, the 13th flotilla from 5 November 1944 to 28 February 1945 and the 14th flotilla from 1 March to 8 May 1945 for operations.
She completed six patrols, but did not sink any ships.
She was a member of two wolfpacks.
The boat surrendered at Narvik in Norway in May 1945. She was sunk in December as part of Operation Deadlight.
Service history
Her patrols used a variety of bases in Norway: e.g. Egersund, Bergen, Kristiansand, Arendal, Trondheim, Bogenbucht, Kilbotn, Harstad and Narvik, but none of them was longer than 32 days.
Fate
At the end of World War II, she surrendered at Narvik on 10 May 1945. She was moved to Skjomenfjord, then Loch Eriboll in Scotland, arriving there on 19 May. She was moved again to Loch Ryan for Operation Deadlight and sunk on 21 December north of Northern Ireland.
See also
- Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945)
References
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC/41 boat U-318". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-318". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
Bibliography
- Gröner, Erich (1985). U-Boote, Hilfskreuzer, Minenschiffe, Netzleger, Sperrbrecher. Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945 (in German) III (Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe). ISBN 3-7637-4802-4.
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German) IV (Hamburg; Berlin; Bonn: Mittler). ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
External links
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 318". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 2014-12-06.
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VII/C41 boat U-318". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- U-318 at ubootwaffe.net