Ship with structural damage with steel parts and cannot be restored. But the second half of the 73-meter submarine was unaffected in the fire. CNN said. Fortunately for the French Navy, a submarine of the Saphir class was decommissioned in 2019, awaiting dismantlement at a shipyard in the port of Cherbourg, northwest France. The front section of the Saphir is still very good. French officials decided to take the first part of the Saphir, combined with the rear of Perle to form a new submarine. The Perle submarine was transferred from the city of Toulon to Cherbourg on a dedicated train in December 2020. At the shipyard, workers cut the Perle in half in February and did the same with the Saphir in March. The Perle submarine was cut in half at the Cherbourg shipyard. Photo: Naval Group. In early April, the second half of the Perle and the front half of the Saphir were fixed to tow them, then welded to connect the two hull halves together. The connection of the two hull parts will be completed in the coming months, said Klara Nadaradjane, spokesman for Naval Group, main contractor. The new submarine is still called the Perle. It will be 1.4 m longer than the original, as an additional component connecting the two halves of the hull is needed. Spokesperson Nadaradjane said the connection of the two halves of the hull was simulated with a 3-dimensional digital model, before being put into practice. However, a Naval Group spokesman did not disclose the cost. The Perle, commissioned in 1993, is the newest of six French Rubis-class nuclear attack submarines. Rubis-class submarines are expected to be replaced by more modern Barracuda-class nuclear attack submarines. However, it was not until 2030 that the last of the Barracuda-class submarines was delivered to the French Navy, forcing them to find a way to repair the Perle submarine. This is the first time the French shipbuilding industry has cut two different ships in half to merge them into one complete ship. Previously, this technique was used by the US to repair their damaged submarines.

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.