French submarine Saphir (S602)

Saphir was a first-generation nuclear attack submarine of the French Navy. Saphir was the second of the Rubis series. The boat was originally to be named Bretagne, but the name was changed to Saphir before commissioning in 1981.

For other ships with the same name, see French submarine Saphir.

History
France
NameLe Saphir
NamesakeSapphire
Laid down1 September 1979
Launched1 September 1981
Commissioned6 July 1984
DecommissionedJuly 2019
HomeportToulon
FateDecommissioned July 2019[1]
General characteristics
Class and typeRubis-class submarine
Displacement2600 t (2400 t surfaced)
Length73.6 m (241 ft)
Beam7.6 m (25 ft)
Draught6.4 m (21 ft)
Propulsion
  • Pressurised water K48 nuclear reactor (48 MW (64,000 hp)), LEU 7%;[2] 2 turbo-alternators ; 1 electric motor (7 MW (9,400 hp)); one propeller
  • 1 diesel-alternator SEMT Pielstick 8 PA 4V 185 SM; one auxiliary engine, 5 MW (6,700 hp).
Speedover 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Endurance45 days
Test depthover 300 m (980 ft)
Complement
  • 10 officers
  • 52 warrant officers
  • 8 petty officers
Sensors and
processing systems
  • DMUX 20 multifonction
  • ETBF DSUV 62C towed antenna
  • DRUA 33 radar
Electronic warfare
& decoys		ARUR 16
Armament

Service history

Between October 1989 and May 1991, the boat undertook a major refit which revolved around upgrades to the level of the lead vessel in the class, Améthyste.

In September 2001, the boat torpedoed and sank a target ship, the decommissioned destroyer D'Estrées, off Toulon.

On 6 March 2015 it was reported that in a later erased blogspot of the French Ministry of Defence that during a training exercise off Florida Saphir, in her role as part of the "enemy" attack group, had "sunk" the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and its escort.[4][5]

After 35 years of active service, Saphir was decommissioned in July 2019, making her the first Rubis-class SSN to be decommissioned. Saphir will be replaced by a new Barracuda-class SSN.[6] In October 2020 it was announced that the submarine Perle would be repaired using the forward section of her decommissioned sister Saphir. The repair was to begin in January 2021 with envisaged completion in 2023.[7]

Decorations

The fanion of Saphir and the men's boat were decorated with the Cross for Military Valour with bronze palm on June 5, 2012.

See also

Notes
  1. "End of Mission for the Saphir ... Waiting for the Suffren".
  2. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18321557.pdf
  3. "SSN Rubis Amethyste Class, France". naval-technology.com. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  4. "U.S. aircraft carrier and part of its escort "sunk" by French submarine during drills off Florida". theaviationist.com. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  5. L'US Navy loue les aptitudes du SNA Saphir "à pénétrer les défenses", Ouest France
  6. Vavasseur, Xavier (6 July 2019). "Last Cruise For French Rubis-Class SSN 'Saphir' – 'Suffren' About To Take Over". Naval News. France. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  7. "Euronaval: France to Repair Fire-Damaged SSN Perle with forward Section of SSN Saphir". 22 October 2020.

References



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