 Sister shipM1 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | M18 |
| Builder | Oderwerke,Stettin |
| Launched | 16 September 1939 |
| Commissioned | 19 March 1940 |
| Fate | Sunk 20 March 1945 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | M 1935-class minesweeper |
| Displacement | 874long tons (888 t) full load |
| Length | 68.40 m (224 ft 5 in)o/a |
| Beam | 8.50 m (27 ft 11 in) |
| Draught | 2.65 m (8 ft 8 in) |
| Propulsion | 2 shaft reciprocating steam engines, 2 oil-fired boilers, 3,500 ihp (2,610 kW) |
| Speed | 18.3knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) |
| Range | 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 95 |
| Armament |
|
The German minesweeperM18 was aM1935 typeminesweeper of theNazi GermanKriegsmarine. Built under the 1937 construction programme by Oderwerke,Stettin,M18 was launched in 1939 and entered service in 1940. She was sunk in an air raid onKiel on 20 March 1945.
The M1935 type minesweeper was a development of Germany's successful minesweepers of theFirst World War, but with a longer hull and using oil fuel rather than coal.[1] A first order for twelve ships (M1–M12) was placed in 1935, as part of the first shipbuilding programme for the German Navy since theAnglo-German Naval Agreement signalled an expansion of the German Navy past the constrictions of theTreaty of Versailles.[2] Six more minesweepers of the same design (M13–M18) were ordered as part of the 1937 construction programme.[3]
M18 was 68.40 m (224 ft 5 in)long overall and 66.60 m (218 ft 6 in)at the waterline, with abeam of 8.50 m (27 ft 11 in) and adraught of 2.65 m (8 ft 8 in).[4]Displacement was 772 long tons (784 t) standard and 874 long tons (888 t) full load.[1] Two Wagner oil-firedwater-tube boilers fed steam to reciprocatingsteam engines,[a][4] rated at 3,500 ihp (2,600 kW) which drove two propeller shafts,[1][5] giving a speed of 18.3 kn (21.1 mph; 33.9 km/h).[4] 143 tons of oil were carried giving a range of 5,000 nmi (5,800 mi; 9,300 km) at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h) and 1,000 nmi (1,200 mi; 1,900 km) at 17 kn (20 mph; 31 km/h).[1][6]
As built,M18 had a main gun armament of two10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK C/32 naval guns,[b] two3.7 cm SK C/30 and two2 cm Flak 30 anti-aircraft guns. 30mines could be carried.[4][5] The ship's anti-aircraft armament was increased during the Second World War, with several (4–6) more 2 cm cannon added.[4][1] The ship had a complement of 95–113 men.[4]
M18 waslaid down asYard number 804 at theOderwerke shipyard inStettin (nowSzczecin in Poland.[6] She waslaunched on 16 September 1939 and entered service on 19 March 1940.[8]
M18 served with the 1st and 3rd Minesweeper Flotillas.[9] On the night of 7/8 July 1942, Soviet forces launched an amphibious attack with light forces against the Finnish island ofSomeri.M18, together with several other German and Finnish ships, provided artillery support to a Finnish counter-attack, and helped to prevent Soviet naval forces from interfering. The Soviet force was defeated on 9 July.[10]
On 4 November 1943, Soviet groundattack aircraft attacked German minesweepers in theGulf of Finland, slightly damagingM18 and the minesweepersM30,M459 andM460 and badly damaging the minesweeperM16.[11]
On 3 February 1944,M18 and sister shipM29 were badly damaged in an American air raid onWilhelmshaven.[12] When repaired, she returned to service with the 3rd Minesweeper Flotilla, and on 22 June supported (together with the rest of her flotilla (M15,M19,M22 andM30) and the 2nd Torpedoboat Flotilla (T8,T10 andT30)) an unsuccessful attempt to land Finnish forces on the island ofNarvi [fi;ru].[13] By late September 1944, the advance of the Soviet armiesinto Estonia prompted an evacuation of German troops and refugees fromTallinn, with the last convoy leaving on 23 September.M18 helped to lay minefields to protect this evacuation and block routes out of the Gulf of Finland.[14] Minelaying operations to cover the German retreat continued, withM18 taking part in OperationKrokodil Süd, to mine the southern exits toMoon Sound on 4–6 October.[15]
On 20 March 1945,M18, along with sister shipsM15,M16,M19 and the old minesweeperM522, was sunk in an air raid atKiel and later scrapped.[16][17]
