Minesweeper M18

M18

Country	Germany
Ship Class	M-class Minesweeper
Builder	OderWerke
Yard Number	804
Ordered	3 Mar 1937
Laid Down	6 Sep 1938
Launched	16 Sep 1939
Commissioned	19 Mar 1940
Sunk	20 Mar 1945
Displacement	784 tons standard; 888 tons full
Length	224 feet
Beam	28 feet
Draft	9 feet
Machinery	Two reciprocating steam engines, 2 Wagner oil-fired boilers, 2 shafts
Bunkerage	143t oil
Power Output	3,500 SHP
Speed	18 knots
Range	5,000nm at 10 knots, 1,000nm at 17 knots
Crew	95
Armament	2x10.5cm SK C/32 guns, 2x3.7cm SK C/30 anti-aircraft guns, 2x2cm Flak 30 anti-aircraft guns, 30x naval mines

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseGerman Navy minesweeper M18 was built under the 1937 construction program by Oderwerke in Stettin, Pommern (English: Pomerania), Germany (now Szczecin, Poland). It entered service in Mar 1940 and operated in the Baltic Sea through the war, often operating closely with Finnish forces. In Feb 1944, she and her sister ship M29 were badly damaged in an American air raid on Wilhelmshaven, Germany, which put her out of service for some weeks. In late Sep 1944, as German and Finnish forces evacuated Estonia, M18 laid mines to protect the evacuation effort and to block future Soviet naval movements out of the Gulf of Finland. In early Oct 1944, she laid mines in the southern exists of Muhu (German: Moon) Sound, Estonia as a part of Operation Krokodil Süd. She was lost during an Allied air raid at Kiel, Germany in Mar 1945.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: Jun 2019

Minesweeper M18 Interactive Map

M18 Operational Timeline

3 Mar 1937	The order for minesweeper M18 was issued.
6 Sep 1938	The keel of M18 was laid down by OderWerke in Stettin, Pommern, Germany.
16 Sep 1939	M18 was launched by OderWerke in Stettin, Pommern, Germany.
19 Mar 1940	M18 was commissioned into service.
8 Jul 1942	M18 provided gunfire support for a Finnish counter-attack against a Soviet offensive at Someri island in the Gulf of Finland.
4 Nov 1943	M18 was lightly damaged by Soviet ground attack aircraft in the Gulf of Finland.
3 Feb 1944	M18 was badly damaged in an American air raid on Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
22 Jun 1944	M18 supported the unsuccessful attempt to land Finnish forces on Narvi island.
4 Oct 1944	M18 began her part in Operation Krokodil Süd, laying mines in the southern exits of the Muhu Sound, Estonia.
20 Mar 1945	M18 was sunk during an Allied air raid on Kiel, Germany.

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