''Le Rubis'' (S 601), initially named ''Provence'', was a first-generation

nuclear attack submarine An SSN is a nuclear-powered general-purpose attack submarine. ''SSN'' is the US Navy hull classification symbol for such vessels; the ''SS'' denotes a submarine and the ''N'' denotes nuclear power. The designation SSN is used for interoperabili ...

and lead boat of the of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in th ...

, assigned to the attack nuclear submarine squadron.

Construction

The submarine was originally namesaked ''Provence'' and was renamed ''Rubis'' on 18 December 1980. Being the lead ship of the class, fine-tuning was long, notably needing over 1,000 hours of underwater testing before commissioning. ''Rubis'' was fielded on 11 December 1976 and launched on 7 July 1979.

Active service

The ''Rubis'' commenced active service on 23 February 1983. In 1985 she evacuated three

Directorate-General for External Security The General Directorate for External Security (french: link=no, Direction générale de la Sécurité extérieure, DGSE) is France's foreign intelligence agency, equivalent to the British MI6 and the American CIA, established on 2 April 1982 ...

(DGSE) agents who sailed to New Zealand on the yacht ''Ouvéa'' to participate in the bombing of , then scuttled their yacht. Later in 1991, the ''Rubis'' formed part of the French naval contribution to the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. Between September 1992 and July 1993, ''Rubis'' undertook a major refitting which upgraded her to the level of the . Soon after, on 17 July 1993, ''Rubis'' collided with the

tanker Tanker may refer to: Transportation * Tanker, a tank crewman (US) * Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids ** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk ** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum ta ...

''Lyria'', as the ''Rubis'' was surfacing, causing minor damage and injuries. On 18 July 1996, the

fourragère The ''fourragère'' () is a military award, distinguishing military units as a whole, in the form of a braided cord. The award was first adopted by France, followed by other nations such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, and Luxembourg. Fo ...

of the ''

Ordre de la Libération The Order of Liberation (french: Ordre de la Libération) is a French Order which was awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during World War II. It is a very high honour, second only after the ''Légion d’Honneur'' (Legion of Honour) ...

'' was awarded to the submarine and the crew, as a legacy of the ''Rubis'' of the Second World War, which had been awarded the medal. The ''Rubis'' also took part in Operation Trident, the 1999 bombing campaign over

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

, by protecting the aeronaval group. Along with the ''Améthyste'', the boat was one of the two submarines who interdicted the

Kotor Kotor ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrativ ...

straits to the Serbian Navy, thus effectively forbidding its use. The boat also gathered information for the coalition. In 2002, the ''Rubis'' protected Task Force 473 in the Indian Ocean, during Operation Hercules, the naval part of the invasion of Afghanistan. On 30 March 2007, while submerged, ''Rubis'' hit the bottom, damaging her bow and

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects on ...

. The boat returned to operations in July 2008. ''Rubis'' was expected to be decommissioned in the beginning of 2017 but underwent modernization and has returned to service as of 2019. She was then scheduled to be withdrawn from service toward the end of 2022. In the summer of 2022 the boat undertook its final operational mission. She was decommissioned in

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 ...

on 2 December 2022.

Awards and honours

Since 5 June 2012, the

fanion A fanion is a small flag used by the French military; the equivalent of an American guidon or British company colour. The name derives from the Italian word gonfanone, or gonfanon. They were often attached to a small staff which was placed in the ...

of ''Rubis'' was decorated with the

Cross for Military Valour The Cross for Military Valour (french: Croix de la Valeur Militaire) is a military decoration of France. It recognises an individual bestowed a Mention in Dispatches earned for showing valour in presence of an enemy, in theatres of operations w ...

with one palm.

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubis (S601) Rubis-class submarines Ships built in France 1979 ships Submarines of France

Construction

Active service

Awards and honours

See also

References and notes