SM U-18

	SM U-18 (second row, second from the right)
History
Germany
Name	U-18
Ordered	May 6, 1910
Builder	Kaiserliche Werft Danzig
Cost	2,333,000 Goldmark
Yard number	12
Laid down	27 October 1910
Launched	25 April 1912
Commissioned	17 November 1912
Fate	Scuttled - 23 November 1914; 1 dead;
General characteristics
Class and type	German Type U 17 submarine
Displacement	564 t (555 long tons) surfaced; 691 t (680 long tons) submerged;
Length	62.35 m (204 ft 7 in)
Beam	6 m (19 ft 8 in)
Height	7.30 m (23 ft 11 in)
Draught	3.40 m (11 ft 2 in)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 × 2 Körting 8-cylinder two stroke paraffin motors with 1,400 PS (1,030 kW; 1,380 shp); 2 × AEG electric motors with 1,120 PS (820 kW; 1,100 shp); 550 rpm surfaced; 425 rpm submerged;
Speed	14.9 knots (27.6 km/h; 17.1 mph) surfaced; 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph) submerged;
Range	6,700 nmi (12,400 km; 7,700 mi) at 8 kn surfaced; 75 nmi (139 km; 86 mi) at 5 kn submerged;
Test depth	50 m (164 ft 1 in)
Boats & landing ; craft carried	1 dingi
Complement	4 officers, 25 men
Armament	4 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes (2 each bow and stern) with 6 torpedoes
Service record
Part of:	II Flotilla; 1 August – 23 November 1914;
Commanders:	Kptlt. Heinrich von Henning; 1 August – 23 November 1914;
Operations:	3 patrols
Victories:	None

SM U-18^{[Note 1]} was one of 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-18 engaged in the commerce warfare in the First Battle of the Atlantic.

Service history

Beginning in October 1914, she was commanded by Kaptlt. von Hennig.^[2]

On her third mission, on 23 November U-18 penetrated the fleet anchorage of Scapa Flow via Hoxa Sound, following a steamer through the boom and entering the anchorage with little difficulty. However, the fleet was absent, being dispersed in anchorages on the west coast of Scotland and Ireland. As U-18 was making her way back out through Hoxa Sound to the open sea, her periscope was spotted by a guard boat. The trawler Dorothy Gray altered course and rammed the periscope, rendering it unserviceable. U-18 then suffered a failure of her diving plane motor and the boat became unable to maintain her depth, at one point even impacting the seabed. She was rammed a second time by destroyer HMS Garry and eventually, her captain was forced to surface and scuttle his command just outside the Hoxa Gate; all crew members, except one, were picked up by British boats.^[3]^[4] One crew member perished, while the remaining 22 were interned as prisoners of war.^[5]

The wreck lies 75 m (246 ft) below the surface just outside the Hoxa Gate, at 58°41′N 02°55′W / 58.683°N 2.917°W / 58.683; -2.917.^[6]

References

Notes

^ "SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.

Citations

^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Heinrich von Henning". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
^ Koerver, Hans Joachim (2008). Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914-1918.
^ Messimer, Dwight R. (2002). Verschollen: World War I U-boat Losses. Naval Institute Press. pp. 36–40. ISBN 9781557504753.
^ Koerver.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 18". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.
^ Willmott, H.P. (2009). The Last Century of Sea Power: From Port Arthur to Chanak, 1894-1922. Indiana University Press. p. 376. ISBN 9780253352149.

Bibliography

Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
Spindler, Arno (1966) [1932]. Der Handelskrieg mit U-Booten. 5 Vols. Berlin: Mittler & Sohn. Vols. 4+5, dealing with 1917+18, are very hard to find: Guildhall Library, London, has them all, also Vol. 1-3 in an English translation: The submarine war against commerce.
Beesly, Patrick (1982). Room 40: British Naval Intelligence 1914-1918. London: H Hamilton. ISBN 978-0241108642.
Halpern, Paul G. (1918). A Naval History of World War I. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1857284980.
Roessler, Eberhard (1997). Die Unterseeboote der Kaiserlichen Marine. Bonn: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 978-3763759637.
Schroeder, Joachim (2002). Die U-Boote des Kaisers. Bonn: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 978-3763762354.
Koerver, Hans Joachim (2008). Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914-1918. Vol I., The Fleet in Action. Steinbach: LIS Reinisch. ISBN 978-3-902433-76-3.
Koerver, Hans Joachim (2009). Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914-1918. Vol II., The Fleet in Being. Steinbach: LIS Reinisch. ISBN 978-3-902433-77-0.
Kemp, Paul (1997). U-boats destroyed, German submarine losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour Press. p. 9. ISBN 1-85409-321-5.

External links

Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 18". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.
Room 40: Archived 2018-10-15 at the Wayback Machine original documents, photos and maps about World War I German submarine warfare and British Room 40 Intelligence from The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, UK.