U-480 was an experimental Kriegsmarine Type VIIC U-boat of World War II, considered by many to be the first stealth submarime,it was equipped with a special rubber coating (codenamed "Alberich", probably after the German mythological character who had the ability to become invisible), that made it difficult to detect with British ASDIC (sonar). The U-boat was laid down in the Deutsche Werke in Kiel as 'werk' 311 on 8 August 1942, launched on 14 August 1943 and commissioned on 6 October 1943 under Oberleutnant Hans-Joachim Förster.