place

French submarine Redoutable (S611)

1967 shipsCold War submarines of FranceMuseum ships in FranceRedoutable-class submarines (1967)Ships built in France
FS Redoutable
FS Redoutable

Le Redoutable (S 611) was the lead boat of her class of ballistic missile submarines in the French Marine Nationale. Commissioned on 1 December 1971, the boat was the first French SNLE (Sous-marin Nucléaire Lanceur d'Engins, "Device-Launching Nuclear Submarine"). The boat was initially fitted with 16 M1 MSBS (Mer-Sol Balistique Stratégique) submarine-launched ballistic missiles , delivering 450 kilotons at 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi). In 1974, the boat was refitted with the M2 missile, and later with the M20, each delivering a one-megatonne warhead at a range over 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi). Le Redoutable ("formidable" or "fearsome" in French) was the only ship of the class not to be refitted with the M4 missile. Le Redoutable had a 20-year duty history, with 51 patrols of 70 days each, totalling an estimated 90,000 hours of diving and 1.27 million kilometres (790,000 mi) of distance, the equivalent of travelling 32 times around the Earth.The boat was decommissioned in 1991. In 2000, the boat was removed from the water and placed in a purpose-built 136 metres (446 ft) dry dock, and over two years was made into an exhibit. This was a monumental task, the biggest portion of which was removing the nuclear reactor and replacing the midsection with an empty steel tube. In 2002, the boat opened as a museum ship at the Cité de la Mer naval museum in Cherbourg-Octeville, France, being now the largest submarine open to the public and the only nearly-complete ballistic missile submarine hull open to the public — although several museums display small portions, such as sails and/or parts of rudders from such submarines. Special dinner events for organizations aboard this boat's interior spaces are offered by Cité de la Mer.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article French submarine Redoutable (S611) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

French submarine Redoutable (S611)
Allée du Président Menut, Cherbourg

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Phone number Website Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: French submarine Redoutable (S611)Continue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 49.64775 ° E -1.6173833333333 °
placeShow on map

Address

La Cité de la Mer

Allée du Président Menut
50100 Cherbourg (Cherbourg-Octeville)
Normandy, France
mapOpen on Google Maps

Phone number

call+33233202669

Website
citedelamer.com

linkVisit website

FS Redoutable
FS Redoutable
Share experience

Nearby Places

Bombardment of Cherbourg
Bombardment of Cherbourg

The bombardment of Cherbourg took place on June 25, 1944, during World War II, when ships from the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy attacked German fortifications in and near the city, firing in support of U.S. Army units that were engaged in the Battle of Cherbourg. In doing so, the Allied naval forces engaged in a series of duels with coastal batteries and provided close support to infantry as they fought to gain control of the city. The bombardment was initially scheduled to last just two hours but it was later extended by an hour to support army units attempting to break into Cherbourg's city streets. After the bombardment, German resistance lasted until June 29, when the port was captured by the Allies. Afterwards, the task of clearing the port for use lasted several weeks. When the Allies secured a bridgehead in the Normandy landings, the Germans adopted a strategy to bottle up the Allied forces in Normandy and deny them the nearest major port at Cherbourg to starve them of supplies. By mid-June U.S. infantry had sealed off the Cotentin Peninsula, but their advance had stalled and the Germans began to demolish the port's facilities. In response, the Allies renewed their efforts to capture the city, and by June 20 three infantry divisions under General "Lightning Joe" Collins had advanced within a mile of German lines defending Cherbourg. Two days later, the general assault began and on June 25, a large naval task force began a concentrated bombardment of the town to help neutralize the threat of German coastal artillery and to provide support to the assaulting infantry. The task force was divided into two groups, each consisting of a variety of warships including battleships, cruisers, destroyers and minesweepers. Each ship was assigned a series of land-based targets. German shells were accurate out to 15,000 yd (14,000 m), and in some cases they were able to bracket the radically maneuvering ships. Several Allied ships were holed, but faulty ammunition hampered German efforts. In several encounters, after being hit the heavy ships were able to withdraw after Allied destroyers obscured them with smoke. After the action, Allied reports agreed that the most effective aspect of the bombardment was the fire that was provided by the small ships. Under the direction of army spotters, these ships were able to engage point targets up to 2,000 yd (1,800 m) inland, which proved invaluable in providing close support to the assaulting Allied infantry. In contrast, while the force's heavy guns disabled 22 of 24 assigned navy targets, they were unable to destroy any of them and, consequently, infantry assaults were required to ensure that the guns could not be reactivated. When the city fell, the neutralized casemated guns, which the Germans could have turned inland towards advancing Allied troops, were still aimed out to sea.