French submarine Casabianca (S603)
Casabianca in Toulon in August 2004
|
|
| History | |
|---|---|
 France
|
|
| Name: | Casabianca |
| Namesake: | Casabianca (Q183) |
| Laid down: | 19 September 1981 |
| Launched: | 22 December 1984 |
| Commissioned: | 13 May 1987 |
| In service: | 21 April 1987 |
| Renamed: | renamed Casabianca |
| Homeport: | Toulon |
| Status: | in active service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Rubis-class submarine |
| Displacement: | 2670 t (2385 t surfaced) |
| Length: | 73.6 m (241 ft) |
| Beam: | 7.6 m (25 ft) |
| Draught: | 6.4 m (21 ft) |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: | over 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) |
| Range: | 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) |
| Endurance: | 60 days |
| Test depth: | over 300 m (980 ft) |
| Complement: |
|
| Sensors and processing systems: |
|
| Electronic warfare & decoys: |
ARUR 13 |
| Armament: |
|
Le Casabianca is one of six nuclear attack Rubis-class submarine of the French Navy.
Mis en chantier in 1981, the submarine was launched in 1984 and admitted to active duty service in 1987.
Contrary to the five other sister-ships, the boat does not bear the namesake of any precious stones; however, successively perpetuated the namesake of the 1500 tons class submarine Casabianca which chose to make way out of Toulon during the scuttling of the fleet, on November 27 1942 to continue the fight with the allies. The submarine distinguished savoir-faire in the Mediterranean, under orders of Capitaine de frégate Jean L'Herminier, notably in participating to the Liberation of Corsica (French: ).
The boat is the third of the Rubis class. Between 1993 and June 1994, the boat undertook a major refitting which upgraded the boat to the level of Améthyste, arming the latter for anti-submarine as well as anti-surface ship warfare. The boat's underwater endurance is 60 days, dictated by food supplies. The boat is designed to operate at seas 220 days per year, and is thus staffed by two crews that relay each other from one patrol or exercise to the next.
Among Casabianca's operational highlights are revolved around being the first French submarine to visit the naval base at Severomorsk, home of the Russian Northern Fleet, in 2003; and patrols in the Mediterranean and in the Indian Ocean as part of the fleet surrounding the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, such as in 2007.
During the Péan inter-allied maneuvers of 1998, Casabianca managed to "sink" USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and her Ticonderoga-class escort cruiser Anzio during a simulated attack.
...
Wikipedia