German submarine ''U-118'' was a Type XB

minelaying A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

's ''

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'' during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She was ordered on 31 January 1939 and

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 1 March 1940 at the

Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft (often just called Germaniawerft, "Germania shipyard") was a German shipbuilding company, located in the harbour at Kiel, and one of the largest and most important builders of U-boats for the Kaiserliche Marine in W ...

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

, as yard number 617. She was launched on 23 September 1941 and commissioned on 6 December under the command of ''

Korvettenkapitän (; ) is the lowest ranking Field officer, senior officer in the German navy. Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer military rank, rank () in the German Navy. Address The official manner, in li ...

'' Werner Czygan. After a period of training as part of the 4th U-boat Flotilla, ''U-118'' was assigned to the front-line as part of the 10th U-boat Flotilla on 1 October 1942. She was reassigned to the 12th U-boat Flotilla a month later on 1 November. She was a member of three wolfpacks.

Operational career

''U-118'' sank three merchant vessels and a warship; a total of and 925 tons of shipping in three patrols. She also damaged two others, for a total of .

First patrol

''U-118''s first patrol began on 19 September 1942 with her departure from Kiel. Her route took her across the

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, through the 'gap' between

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and the

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and into the Atlantic Ocean. The boat was attacked south of Iceland by an aircraft on 29 September which caused only slight damage. She reached her destination,

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

, in occupied France, on 16 October.

Second patrol

Her second sortie was to an area between the

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and

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. It was uneventful. She carried out a short transit voyage from Lorient to Brest on 12 and 13 December 1942.

Third patrol

The boat's third patrol was the longest, and the most successful. Departing Brest on 25 January 1943, she sailed west of

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

, where she sank ''Baltonia'', ''Empire Mordred'' and ''Mary Slessor'' on 7 February and damaged ''Duero'' with a mine on the tenth. She was also responsible for the sinking of the corvette on 22 February. The Canadian ship struck a mine that ''U-118'' had laid on the first. Despite best efforts by the crew to remove

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...

primers, two exploded when the ship sank, killing men in the water and disabling a nearby destroyer. ''U-118'' returned to France, to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, on 26 February.

Fourth patrol and loss

''U-118'' had been at sea less than a month when she was attacked by two aircraft west of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

followed by a further eight planes from the carrier . Following a heavy expenditure of bombs, .50" and .30" ammunition; the U-boat exploded into two parts, oil and debris were flung into the air. 16 men survived to be picked up by the escort vessel . She was sunk in position

Wolfpacks

''U-118'' took part in three wolfpacks, namely: * Wotan (5 – 7 October 1942) * Westwall (28 – 30 November 1942) * Rochen (13 – 14 February 1943)

Summary of raiding history

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

* *
''U-118'' at ubootwaffe.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:U0118 German Type X submarines U-boats commissioned in 1941 U-boats sunk in 1943 U-boats sunk by US aircraft World War II submarines of Germany World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean 1941 ships Ships built in Kiel Maritime incidents in June 1943