--- title: "Watch Two French Submarine Halves Get Grafted Together In A Remarkable Repair Job" description: "After being seriously damaged in a blaze last year, a French nuclear-powered attack submarine is being reborn." date: "2021-04-15" modified: "2021-04-15" authors: - name: "Thomas Newdick" job_title: "Staff Writer" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/thomas-newdick" url: "https://www.twz.com/40204/watch-two-french-submarine-halves-get-grafted-together-in-a-remarkable-repair-job" categories: - "French Navy" - "Navies" - "Nuclear Attack Submarines (SSNs)" - "Sea" - "Submarines" tags: - "Barracuda Class" - "Cherbourg" - "French Navy" - "Naval Group" - "nuclear attack submarine" - "Perle" - "Rubis Class" - "Saphir" - "ssn" - "Suffren" - "Toulon" --- # Watch Two French Submarine Halves Get Grafted Together In A Remarkable Repair Job ![]() *www.twz.com* There’s been a new twist in the project to graft a new front end to the fire-damaged French Navy nuclear-powered attack submarine *Perle*. Imagery from the dry dock shows that, rather than the expected “[nose job](),” two submarine *halves* are now being attached together to produce a “new” submarine, which will retain the *Perle* name. The procedure to fuse together the two hull halves of the *Rubis* class submarines will actually end up stretching the length of the submarine by 4 feet 6 inches. Earlier this month, the undamaged rear half of the *Perle* and the front half of the *Saphir* were carefully aligned on “walkers” at the [Naval Group]() shipyard in Cherbourg, northern France. *Saphir* had previously been withdrawn from service in July 2019. Caused by faulty lighting, the fire onboard the *Perle* started on June 12 last year and burned for 14 hours, [causing massive structural damage]() to the front end of the boat. There were no reports of injuries and no weapons or nuclear fuel were on board at the time. ![message-editor%2F1618518824637-perlefiredamage.jpeg]() *The fire-damaged front section of the *Perle*, while still in Toulon., *BENOIT EMILE/MARINE NATIONALE/DÉFENSE** Work began on the repairs to the *Perle* five months ago, followed by the serious job of cutting this submarine in February and then the *Saphir* in March. Naval Group described the overall process as “hybridization” given the significant required changes in the area between the two hull halves, which will take more than 300 workers a total of 250,000 hours to complete. “Naval Group and its industrial partners are fully committed to enabling the French Navy to recover the potential of its six nuclear attack submarines as quickly as possible,” said Pierre-Eric Pommellet, Chairman and CEO of the Naval Group. “The success of the repair works on the *Perle* owes a lot to the know-how and professionalism of the Naval Group teams involved and we are proud to offer these unique skills at the service of a challenge whose scope we fully appreciate.” https://youtube.com/embed/mApRm6kqIIQ Other repairs undertaken so far in the procedure to return the *Perle* to service has included welding work in the boat’s outer hull and rebuilding the inner decks in the new junction area — the new 4-foot 6-inch section that has been added to the middle. In addition, hundreds of cables and pipes have been attached together, along with the updating of some 2,000 drawings and documents, part of around 100,000 hours of engineering studies. The design work around the area where the two halves will get joined together has also made use of 3D digital modeling of the submarine, creating a “digital twin,” an increasingly popular approach when [working on repairs to older structures](). In this way, a design team was able to plot exactly where different pipes and cables would run between the front and the rear sections, and work out where holes and supports were needed. Electricians and pipe-fitters were also able to use the digital twin to practice how they would do their work once aboard the real submarine. The junction area itself will provide two new living quarters, making additional space for the crew, which numbers around 70. ![message-editor%2F1618518940717-rubisclasscrew.jpg]() *Crew aboard a French Navy *Rubis* class submarine., *WIKIMEDIA COMMONS** The next steps for the *Perle*, once fully refurbished, will be the Periodic Interruption for Maintenance and Repair (PIMR), planned for the end of this year, after which the submarine will return to its base at Toulon, in southern France. The PMIR is roughly equivalent to the U.S. Navy’s [Engineered Refueling Overhaul]() (ERO), during which the submarine is refueled and upgraded for returning to sea. The submarine is expected to be on active duty with the French Navy again in early 2023. ![message-editor%2F1618519106855-fs\_saphir\_01.jpg]() *The submarine *Saphir*, which served as the donor for the new front hull section for the *Perle*., *Jean-Michel Roche/Wikimedia Commons** French Minister of Defense Florence Parly announced last October 22 that the *Perle* would be repaired and returned to service, specifically to help address the shortage of nuclear attack submarines. Although the six *Rubis* class submarines are scheduled for replacement by [the new *Barracuda* class](), *Perle* is the youngest, entering service in 1993, and the repair work was judged worthwhile, although the exact costs involved are unclear. In the meantime, the first of the *Barracudas*, the *Suffren*, was delivered to the French Navy [last November.]() Resurrecting a damaged nuclear-powered submarine is not without precedent, of course. The U.S. Navy returned the *Los Angeles* class attack boat USS *San Francisco* to service after its [collision]() with an underwater seamount in the central Pacific in 2005. In that case, the submarine received the bow of the *USS Honolulu*, another *Los Angeles* class boat, process that you can read more about [here](). ![message-editor%2F1618519282787-us\_navy\_050127-n-4658l-030\_submarine\_uss\_san\_francisco\_in\_dry\_dock\_to\_assess\_damage\_guam\_jan\_8\_2005.jpg]() *The *Los Angeles* class attack submarine USS *San Francisco* (SSN-711) in dry dock to assess damage sustained after running aground approximately 350 miles south of Guam in January 2005., *U.S. Navy** Another U.S. Navy submarine was less fortunate. The *Los Angeles* class attack boat USS *Miami* [catching fire]() in its dry dock during an overhaul in 2012. The submarine was retired from service as result. ![message-editor%2F1618519474699-120315-n-tt535-040\_uss\_miami.jpg]() *USS *Miami* enters dry dock at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in March 2012, just two months before being seriously damaged in a fire., *U.S. Navy** Since then, major fires have also broken out aboard other U.S. Navy vessels, including the amphibious assault ship [USS *Bonhomme Richard*](), the future [USS *John F. Kennedy*](), a [*Ford*-class aircraft carrier](), and on *Bonhomme Richard’s* sister ship, [USS *Kearsarge*](). Other [shipboard fires]() have blighted the U.S. Coast Guard, as well. The damage to *Bonhomme Richard* was so significant that the Navy decided to scrap it, a process that will itself [cost an estimated $30 million](). Clearly, significant efforts are going into returning the *Perle* to service, with the Naval Group conducting unique work in parallel to the construction of five *Barracuda* successor boats in the same yard. It points to the great value that the French Navy places on its attack submarines, which conduct critical missions including providing defensive screens for the aircraft carrier [*Charles de Gaulle*]() and the [*Triomphant* class]() nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. After all, a class of six boats provides for two or three that be deployed at sea at any given time. What is more, their areas of operations are expanding, too, including a [rare trip to the Pacific]() by the *Rubis* class boat *Émeraude* at the end of last year. ![message-editor%2F1618517527239-emeraudinthepacific.jpg]() *The *Los Angeles* class attack submarine USS *Asheville* (foreground) trains with the *Émeraude* in the Pacific last December., *U.S. Navy** By the time the last of the *Rubis* boats are retired from service in around 2030, this class will have provided close to a quarter of a century of service to the French Navy. Along the way, the return to service of the *Perle* will no doubt stand out among the most remarkable episodes in their long careers. *Contact the author: thomas@thedrive.com* ## Author Thomas Newdick is a staff writer at *TWZ*, where he covers military aviation, defense technology, weapons systems, and international security. Based in Berlin, Germany, he reports on conflicts, military modernization efforts, and emerging aerospace technologies around the world, with a particular interest in airpower and its role in contemporary warfare. His reporting is informed by deep expertise in modern and historical airpower, particularly in Europe, with a focus on military aviation, air campaigns, and aerospace developments across the continent and beyond. Over a journalism career spanning more than 25 years, Thomas has become known for making complex defense and aerospace topics accessible to a broad audience. His reporting combines technical expertise, historical context, and a focus on the real-world operational and strategic implications of military developments. ### Author social links [Twitter]()