French submarine Perle (S606)

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For other ships with the same name, see French ship Perle.
the Perle submarine
History
France
NamePerle
NamesakePearl
Laid down22 March 1987
Launched22 September 1990
Commissioned7 July 1993
HomeportToulon
StatusIn active service but laid up for repair due to 2020 fire
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), LEU 7%;[1] 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)
Test depthover 300 m
Complement
  • 10 officers
  • 52 warrant officers
  • 8 petty officers
Sensors and
processing systems
  • DMUX 20 active/passive sonar
  • ETBF DSUV 62C towed array sonar
  • DSUV 22 passive cylindrical array sonar with active transducer
  • DRUA 33 radar
Electronic warfare
& decoys		ARUR 13
Armament
  • 4 × 533mm tubes.[2]
  • total mixed load of 14
    • F17 mod2 torpedoes
    • 14 Exocet SM39
  • mines

Perle is a first-generation nuclear attack submarine of the French Navy.

Construction began on March 27, 1987, the boat was launched on September 22, 1990 – and entered active duty service on July 7, 1993.

The boat is the sixth and last of the Rubis series.

History[]

The boat was deployed in the Royal Navy Auriga 2010 exercise alongside 7 Royal Navy war ships and 1 U.S.Navy destroyer.

2020 fire[]

On Friday June 12, 2020 at 10:35 a.m., a fire started at the front of Perle, while in drydock for maintenance and repair at the military port of Toulon.[3] The fire was reported as under control at 9:36 PM.[4] Firefighters flooded the rear compartments of the submarine with foam. At least 30 specialist naval fighters and a fireboat were involved.[4] There were no reported injuries in the fire. Since the submarine's 48 megawatt pressurized water nuclear reactor had been removed when it entered the drydock in January 2020, there was no risk of radioactive contamination.[4]

In October 2020 it was announced that the submarine would be repaired using the forward section of her decommissioned sister boat, Saphir. The repair was to begin in January 2021 with envisaged completion in 2023.[5]

In October 2021, the joining of the forward section of Saphir with Perle was said to have been completed and the submarine was transferred from the Cherbourg shipyard back to Toulon to resume her original refit where it had been interrupted by the April 2020 fire. Perle is scheduled for continued work through 2022 with sea trials envisaged toward the end of the year and a return to operational service in the first half of 2023.[6]

See also[]

Notes and references[]

  1. ^ https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18321557.pdf
  2. ^ "SSN Rubis Amethyste Class - Naval Technology".
  3. ^ "Firefighters Battled the French SSN 'Perle' Blaze for 14 Hours". 13 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Roblin, Sebastien (June 12, 2020). "A French Submarine Caught Fire In Drydock. It Could Lead Paris To Rethink Its Nuclear Deterrence Strategy". Forbes.
  5. ^ "Euronaval: France to Repair Fire-Damaged SSN Perle with forward Section of SSN Saphir". 22 October 2020.
  6. ^ "French SSN Perle Overhaul to Resume Following Unique Repair Work". 26 October 2021.


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