French nuclear-powered attack submarine
|
| History |
|---|
 France |
|---|
| Name | Le Saphir |
| Namesake | Sapphire |
| Laid down | 1 September 1979 |
| Launched | 1 September 1981 |
| Commissioned | 6 July 1984 |
| Decommissioned | July 2019 |
| Homeport | Toulon |
| Fate | Decommissioned July 2019[1] |
| General characteristics |
|---|
| Class and type | Rubis-class submarine |
| Displacement | 2600 t (2400 t surfaced) |
| Length | 73.6 m (241 ft) |
| Beam | 7.6 m (25 ft) |
| Draught | 6.4 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).
|
| Speed | over 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) |
| Endurance | 45 days |
| Test depth | over 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 | |
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.
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.
