The submarine was laid down on 16 August 1944 at the Blohm & Voss yard at Hamburg, launched on 4 October 1944, and commissioned on 4 November 1944 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Friedrich Weidner. After training with 31st U-boat Flotilla, U-2518 was transferred to 11th U-boat Flotilla 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 8 May 1945, she surrendered to British forces at Horten, Norway. She was taken to Lisahally, 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 in February 1946.