Journey to ‘revive’ a French submarine from 2 different submarines

Seriously damaged after a fire, one French nuclear submarine is now being ‘revived’ by connecting its intact part to another that has been decommissioned.
In June 2020, a fire broke out inside the French Navy’s Perle attack submarine, while it was anchored in Toulon pending repairs. The fire damaged the ship’s structure, with its head and steel parts irreparable.

Fortunately, the second half of the 2,600-ton submarine, 73 meters long, displaced the water, remained undamaged after the fire. And in the difficult emergence of wisdom, French naval officials had the idea of ​​pairing the rest with its “sister” – the Saphir submarine. Perle nuclear submarine intact. Photo: Reddit Although decommissioned in 2019, and waiting to be dismantled, the Saphir front section remains relatively stable in construction. Therefore, French authorities determined that the ship could still be combined with the back of Perle to form a new attack submarine. Perle was subsequently relocated from Toulon to Cherbourg in December of last year. The workers cut it in half and the Saphir. According to French naval contractor Naval Group, earlier this month, the second half of the Perle and the front half of the Saphir were put on “conveyor” at the shipyard in Cherbourg, so that they can be carefully calibrated and welded. together. Perle submarines after being burned by fire nearly half. Photo: Marine Nationale A Naval Group spokesperson said assembly will continue to be completed in the coming months. The complete submarine, still named Perle, will be about 1.5 meters longer than its “predecessors” thanks to an additional “intersection zone”. The intersection zone on the new version of the Perle submarine will add a bit of living space for about 70 sailors operating inside the ship. Digital model According to Naval Group, all assemblies are simulated using 3D digital methods before being applied to a real ship. This is the effort spent more than 100,000 hours of technical research and 250,000 hours of manual work by more than 300 technicians and shipbuilders. Two pieces of the Perle submarine after being cut in half at the Cherbourg Shipyard, France. Photo: AP Franck Ferrer, Director of Naval Group Services, said in January the new version is expected to return to Toulon by the end of this year, for further engineering and upgrade of the combat system. . The ship will rejoin the French Navy fleet in early 2023. “The implementation of the project for these cases, namely the repairing and joining of parts of two sister ships together, was the first thing Naval Group did in modern history,” said Ferrer. said. Rare luck The Perle was not the first instance of two parts of two different ships being assembled together. According to Thomas Shugart, a retired commander of the American attack submarine, the US Navy did the same thing by replacing the damaged bow of the USS San Francisco with the bow of the soon-to-be retired USS Honolulu. The process of assembling two-part Perle submarines with Saphir. Video: Le Télégramme However, the Perle submarine can “revive” is still considered a rare luck compared to similar cases in the past. In 2012, a disgruntled worker caused a serious fire on the USS Miami submarine, while the ship was undergoing repairs at the port of Portsmouth, Maine (USA). The ship then became a waste product due to the high cost of restoration. By 2020, the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard is also damaged by fire while being upgraded in San Diego port (USA). After determining it would take up to $ 3.2 billion and seven years to repair, the USS Bonhomme Richard was finally removed from service with the US Navy.