German submarine U-480

History
Nazi Germany
NameU-480
Ordered10 April 1941[1]
BuilderDeutsche Werke, Kiel
Yard number311[1]
Laid down8 December 1942[1]
Launched14 August 1943[1]
Commissioned6 October 1943[1]
FateSunk between 29 January and 20 February 1945 in minefield "Brazier D2" in the English Channel, with the loss of the entire crew of 48.[1]
General characteristics
Class and typeType VIIC submarine
Displacement
Length
Beam
  • 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a
  • 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Installed power
  • 2,800–3,200 PS (2,100–2,400 kW; 2,800–3,200 bhp) (diesels)
  • 750 PS (550 kW; 740 shp) (electric)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 17.7 kn (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced
  • 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged
Range
  • 8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth
  • 230 m (750 ft)
  • Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft)
Complement4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Armament
Service record[1]
Part of:
Identification codes: M 53 621
Commanders:
Operations:
  • 3 patrols:
  • 1st patrol:
  • 7 June – 7 July 1944
  • 2nd patrol:
  • 3 August – 4 October 1944
  • 3rd patrol:
  • 6 – 29 January 1945
Victories:
  • 2 merchant ships sunk
    (12,846 GRT)
  • 2 warships sunk
    (1,775 tons)

German submarine U-480 was an experimental Kriegsmarine Type VIIC U-boat of World War II.

Considered by many to be the first stealth submarine, it was equipped with a special rubber skin of anechoic tiles (codenamed Alberich, after the German mythological character who had the ability to become invisible), that made it difficult to detect with the Allies' ASDIC (sonar). She was one of about six Type VIIs so equipped.[2]

The U-boat was laid down in the Deutsche Werke in Kiel as yard number 311 on 8 December 1942, launched on 14 August 1943 and commissioned on 6 October 1943 under Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Joachim Förster. U-480 carried out three war patrols, all under Förster's command. Because of its coating, the boat was sent to the heavily defended English Channel.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-480". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  2. ^ Sgarlato, Nico; Sgarlato, Alessio (2022). Secret projects of the Kriegsmarine : unseen designs of Nazi Germany's navy. Alessio Sgarlato. Barnsley, S. Yorkshire. ISBN 978-1-78438-687-0. OCLC 1260821096.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)