French submarine Casabianca (S603)

For other ships of the same name, see French ship Casabianca.
Casabianca in Toulon in August 2004
History
France
Name: Casabianca
Namesake: Casabianca (Q183)
Laid down: 19 September 1981 [1]
Launched: 22 December 1984
Christened: as Bourgogne
Commissioned: 13 May 1987
In service: 21 April 1987
Renamed: renamed Casabianca
Homeport: Toulon
Status: in active service, as of 2016
General characteristics
Class & 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:
  • Pressurised water K48 nuclear reactor (48 MW) ; 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.
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:
  • 8 officers
  • 52 warrant officers
  • 8 petty officers
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • DMUX 20 multifonction
  • ETBF DSUV 62C tugged antenna
  • DSUV 22 microphone system
  • DRUA 33 radar
Electronic warfare
& decoys:		 ARUR 13
Armament:

Casabianca (ex-Bourgogne) is a first-generation nuclear attack submarine of the French Navy. She is named in honour of the famous submarine of the Free French Naval Forces Casabianca (Q183).

She is the third of the Rubis class. Between 1993 and June 1994, she undertook a major refitting which upgraded her to the level of Améthyste, arming her for anti-submarine as well as anti-surface ship warfare.[1][2] Her underwater endurance is 60 days, dictated by food supplies. She 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.[1]

Among Casabianca's operational highlights are its 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.[3]

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.[3]

Notes and references

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Casabianca (S 603).
  1. 1 2 3 "Le SNA Casabianca (S 603)". Marine Nationale. 2011-02-03. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
  2. 1 2 "SSN Rubis Amethyste Class Attack Submarine, France". Naval-technology.com. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
  3. 1 2 3 Roche, Jean-Michel (2010). "Sous-marin nucléaire d'attaque Casabianca". netmarine.net. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
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