M18
| Country | Germany |
| Ship Class | M-class Minesweeper |
| Builder Name | 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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Lt. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, at Guadalcanal
