SM U-18
German World War I submarine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
SM U-18[Note 1] was one of 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-18 engaged in commerce warfare in the First Battle of the Atlantic.
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 on 23 November 1914 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Type U 17 submarine |
| Displacement | |
| 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 | |
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| 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 |
|
| Commanders |
|
| Operations | 3 patrols |
| Victories | None |
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.[6]