German submarine ''U-518'' was a
Type IXC U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
of the
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
's ''
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
'' during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. She saw considerable success from her launch on 11 February 1942 until she was sunk on 22 April 1945. The U-boat was
laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
at the Deutsche Werft in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
as yard number 314 on 12 June 1941, and
commissioned on 25 April 1942 with ''
Fregattenkapitän
Fregattenkapitän, short: FKpt / in lists: FK, () is the middle field officer rank () in the German Navy.
Address
In line with ZDv 10/8, the official manner of formally addressing military personnel holding the rank of ''Fregattenkapitän'' (O ...
'' Hans-Günther Brachmann in command. He was replaced on 19 August 1942 by ''
Kapitänleutnant
''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer and ...
'' Friedrich-Wilhelm Wissmann.
She sank nine ships and damaged three more in seven active patrols. ''U-518'' had a crew of 56, and was by then commanded by ''
Oberleutnant zur See
''Oberleutnant zur See'' (''OLt zS'' or ''OLZS'' in the German Navy, ''Oblt.z.S.'' in the ''Kriegsmarine'') is traditionally the highest rank of Lieutenant in the German Navy. It is grouped as OF-1 in NATO.
The rank was introduced in the Imper ...
'' Hans-Werner Offermann from 13 January 1944.
Design
German Type IXC submarines were slightly larger than the original
Type IXBs. ''U-518'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of , a
pressure hull
A submarine hull has two major components, the ''light hull'' and the ''pressure hull''. The light hull (''casing'' in British usage) of a submarine is the outer non-watertight hull which provides a hydrodynamically efficient shape. The pressure ...
length of , a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of , a height of , and a
draught of . The submarine was powered by two
MAN M 9 V 40/46
supercharged
In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement.
The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...
four-stroke, nine-cylinder
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
s producing a total of for use while surfaced, two
Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34
double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two
propeller
A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
s. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to .
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . ''U-518'' was fitted with six
torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
es, one
SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a
SK C/30 as well as a
C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a
complement of forty-eight.
Service history
First patrol
She left
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
on 26 September 1942, by-passed the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
via the
gap between
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
and the
Faeroe Islands and crossed the Atlantic. She entered
Conception Bay
Conception Bay (CB) is a bay on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
The population (in 2011) of people living in municipalities (or unincorporated census subdivisions) located along the coast of Conception Bay was 90,490 making it on ...
,
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
and near
Bell Island sank the Free French ''PLM 27'' and the Canadian ''Rose Castle'' on 2 November. A week later, on 9 November, she put a German spy named
Werner von Janowski
Werner Alfred Waldemar von Janowski, (Abwehr-codenamed "Bobbi"; Allied-codenamed WATCHDOG), was a captured German Second World War Nazi spy and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's first double agent. He is believed to have been a triple agent by ...
ashore at New Carlisle, Quebec.
Moving out into the Atlantic proper, she attacked other ships, such as the British ''Empire Sailor'' on the 21st and the American ''Caddo'' on the 23rd. With these and other successes behind her, she moved to her new home base,
Lorient in occupied France, arriving on 15 December 1942.
Second patrol
Leaving Lorient on 11 January 1943, she sailed to the eastern Brazilian coast and on 14 February 1943 came under attack from unidentified Allied aircraft; she sustained minimal damage Between 18 February and 25 March, she sank another four ships. On the return journey, she passed through the
Cape Verde Islands, west of the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
and east of the
Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
, arriving back at Lorient on 27 April 1943 after a patrol lasting 107 days.
Third patrol
Her third sortie was marked by a
depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
and strafing attack on 27 June 1943 by a
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
flying boat of
No. 201 Squadron RAF
Number 201 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It currently operates the Boeing Poseidon MRA1 from RAF Lossiemouth, Moray.
It is the only squadron affiliated with Guernsey, in the Channel Islands. This affiliation started in 1935 ...
. The damage incurred was serious enough to warrant her return which was hampered by another attack by a Sunderland, this time from
No. 10 Squadron RAAF
No. 10 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) signals intelligence squadron based at RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia. It is part of No. 42 Wing RAAF. The squadron was formed in 1939 as a maritime patrol unit. It saw active service ...
on 30 June in the
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
. This incident caused no further damage, but the aircraft's rear gunner was mortally wounded. The boat docked in
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
on 3 July.
Fourth patrol
She spent fifteen weeks on patrol which included a presence in the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
, between 18 August and 1 December 1943, with no results.
Fifth patrol
Another long patrol saw the boat in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
where she torpedoed the
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
nian ''Valera''. The ship broke in two before sinking. The submarine had departed Lorient on 23 January 1944 and returned there on 10 July.
She was on non-active patrol afterwards. Traveling from port to port, lasting from 4 to 10 July 1944, with no results.
Sixth patrol
By now, the Allies were besieging the Atlantic ports on the landward side; the boat departed Lorient for the last time on 15 July 1944. Allied escort ships attacked a submarine in mid-ocean, probably ''U-518'', on 9 August. She next turned up, on the eastern US coast, where she damaged the American ''George Ade''. She then withdrew to
Kristiansand
Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation ...
in Norway, arriving on 24 October 1944.
She was on non-active patrol again afterwards. Both of these voyages from 25 to 28 October 1944 and 5 to 10 March 1945 were between ports and produced no results.
Seventh patrol and loss
Her last foray began when she departed Kristiansand on 12 March 1945. She was sunk northwest of the Azores on 22 April by
hedgehog rounds from and . There were no survivors.
Wolfpacks
''U-518'' took part in two
wolfpacks, namely:
* Panther (7 – 11 October 1942)
*
Seewolf (14 – 22 April 1945)
Summary of raiding history
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:U0518
World War II submarines of Germany
German Type IX submarines
U-boats commissioned in 1942
U-boats sunk in 1945
U-boats sunk by depth charges
U-boats sunk by US warships
World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean
1942 ships
Ships built in Hamburg
Ships lost with all hands
Maritime incidents in April 1945