Casabianca in Toulon in August 2004
History
France
NameCasabianca
NamesakeCasabianca (1935)
Laid down19 September 1981 [2]
Launched22 December 1984
Commissioned13 May 1987
Decommissioned27 September 2023[1]
In service21 April 1987
HomeportToulon
StatusDecommissioned
General characteristics
Class and typeRubis-class submarine
Displacement2670 t (2385 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), 2 turbo-alternators ; 1 electric engine (7 MW); one propeller
  • 1 diesel-alternators SEMT Pielstick 8 PA 4V 185 SM; one auxiliary engine, 5 MW.
Speedover 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi)
Endurance60 days
Test depthover 300 m (980 ft)
Complement
  • 8 officers
  • 52 warrant officers
  • 8 petty officers
Sensors and
processing systems
  • DMUX 20 multifonction
  • ETBF DSUV 62C tugged antenna
  • DSUV 22 microphone system
  • DRUA 33 radar
Electronic warfare
& decoys		ARUR 13
Armament

Casabianca was a Rubis-class nuclear attack submarine of the French Navy. Laid down in 1981, she was launched in 1984 and commissioned in 1987. She was withdrawn from service in September 2023.[5][6][7][8]

Unlike her five sister ships, Casabianca was not named after a precious stone; she was named after the Redoutable-class submarine Casabianca of the Second World War.

The boat was the third in the Rubis class. Between 1993 and June 1994, the boat undertook a major refitting which upgraded the boat to the level of Améthyste, arming the latter for anti-submarine as well as anti-surface ship warfare.[2][3] The boat's underwater endurance is 60 days, dictated by food supplies. The boat was designed to operate at seas 220 days per year, and was thus staffed by two crews that replaced each other from one patrol or exercise to the next.[2]

Casabianca's operational highlights include being the first French submarine to visit the naval base at Severomorsk, home of the Russian Northern Fleet, in 2003; and patrols in the Mediterranean and in the Indian Ocean as part of the fleet surrounding the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, such as in 2007.[4]

During the Péan inter-allied maneuvers of 1998, Casabianca managed to "sink" USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and her Ticonderoga-class escort cruiser Anzio during a simulated attack.[4]

On August 21 2023, the submarine departed Toulon for the final time. She arrived in Cherbourg on September 1 to prepare for decommissioning.[9]

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ Groizeleau, Vincent (29 September 2023). "Cherbourg : dernière cérémonie des couleurs pour le SNA Casabianca". Mer et Marine.
  2. ^ a b c "Le SNA Casabianca (S 603)". Marine Nationale. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  3. ^ a b "SSN Rubis Amethyste Class Attack Submarine, France". Naval-technology.com. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  4. ^ a b c Roche, Jean-Michel (2010). "Sous-marin nucléaire d'attaque Casabianca". netmarine.net. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  5. ^ Groizeleau, Vincent (29 September 2023). "Cherbourg : dernière cérémonie des couleurs pour le SNA Casabianca". Mer et Marine.
  6. ^ Groizeleau, Vincent (30 June 2023). "Le SNA Casabianca va tirer sa révérence". Mer et Marine.
  7. ^ Dalaine, Mathieu (29 June 2023). ""C'est un bateau emblématique": le sous-marin nucléaire Casabianca prend sa retraite à Toulon". var matin.
  8. ^ "Dernière prise de commandement pour le SNA Casabianca | Mer et Marine". 19 April 2022.
  9. ^ Groizeleau, Vincent (5 September 2023). "Le SNA Casabianca achève son dernier voyage à Cherbourg". Mer et Marine.

External links


Rubis-class submarine
Categories