German World War II submarine
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 on 9 May 1945. She was sunk on 21 December 1945 as part of Operation "Deadlight".
Design.
German Type VIIC/41 submarines were preceded by the heavier Type VIIC submarines. "U-318" had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Garbe, Lahmeyer &amp; Co. RP 137/c double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. 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-318" was fitted with five torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one SK C/35 naval gun, (220 rounds), one Flak M42 and two C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.
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.
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