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M18

CountryGermany
Ship ClassM-class Minesweeper
BuilderOderwerke AG
Yard Number804
Ordered3 Mar 1937
Laid Down6 Sep 1938
Launched16 Sep 1939
Commissioned19 Mar 1940
Sunk20 Mar 1945
Displacement784 tons standard; 888 tons full
Length224 feet
Beam28 feet
Draft9 feet
MachineryTwo reciprocating steam engines, 2 Wagner oil-fired boilers, 2 shafts
Bunkerage143t oil
Power Output3,500 shaft horsepower
Speed18 knots
Range5,000nm at 10 knots, 1,000nm at 17 knots
Crew95
Armament2x10.5cm SK C/32 guns, 2x3.7cm SK C/30 anti-aircraft guns, 2x2cm Flak 30 anti-aircraft guns, 30x naval mines

Contributor:

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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