German submarine ''U-2518'' was a

Type XXI Type XXI submarines were a class of German diesel–electric '' Elektroboot'' (German: "electric boat") submarines designed during the Second World War. One hundred eighteen were completed, with four being combat-ready. During the war only two w ...

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 ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

'' at the end of

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 ...

, which later served in the French Navy, where she was commissioned as ''Roland Morillot'', in honour of Roland Morillot, a French submarine officer killed in 1915.

Service history

''Kriegsmarine''

The submarine was laid down on 16 August 1944 at the

Blohm & Voss Blohm+Voss (B+V), also written historically as Blohm & Voss, Blohm und Voß etc., is a German shipbuilding and engineering company. Founded in Hamburg in 1877 to specialise in steel-hulled ships, its most famous product was the World War II battle ...

yard at

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, launched on 4 October 1944, and commissioned on 4 November 1944 under the command of ''

Oberleutnant zur See (''OLt zS'' or ''OLZS'' in the German Navy, ''Oblt.z.S.'' in the ''Kriegsmarine'') is traditionally the highest rank of Lieutenant in the German Navy. It is grouped as Ranks and insignia of officers of NATO Navies, OF-1 in NATO. The rank was ...

'' Friedrich Weidner. After training with

31st U-boat Flotilla ''31st U-boat Flotilla'' ("31. Unterseebootsflottille") was a training flotilla ("''Ausbildungsflottille''") of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The flotilla was formed in Hamburg in September 1943 under the command of '' Kap ...

, ''U-2518'' was transferred to

11th U-boat Flotilla The 11th U-boat Flotilla (German ''11. Unterseebootsflottille'') was formed on 15 May 1942 in Bergen, Norway. The flotilla operated mainly in the North Sea and against the Russian convoys (JW, PQ, QP and RA series) in the Arctic Sea. The flotill ...

for front-line service on 1 April 1945, though this was too late for the U-boat to sail on any combat patrols or sink any ships. On 9 May 1945, she surrendered to British forces at Horten Naval Base,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. She was taken to

Lisahally Londonderry Port, now operating as Foyle Port, is a port located on Lough Foyle in Northern Ireland. It is the United Kingdom’s most westerly port and an important northerly port on the island of Ireland. The current port is at Lisahally, Co ...

, Londonderry. ''U-2518'' was handed over by the British to the French Marine Nationale. On her journey from Lisahally to France, she stopped in

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...

in February 1946.

''Marine Nationale''

The U-boat arrived at

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

on 26 February 1946, and after repairs made her first voyage on 20 August. In January 1948 she sailed from

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

to Casabianca completely submerged, and in April 1948 was permanently assigned to the Navy. On 14 February 1951 she was renamed ''Roland Morillot''. In August 1956 she took part in Operation Musketeer during the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

. In 1967 the submarine was placed in reserve, and on 21 May 1969 was sold to Lotti S.p.A. at

La Spezia La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguria ...

for scrapping.

References

Bibliography

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External links