The Saphir (S 602) is a first-generation nuclear attack submarine of the French Navy

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

. She was to be named Bretagne but was renamed Saphir in 1981.

She is the second of the Rubis series

Rubis class submarine

The Rubis type is a class of first-generation nuclear attack submarines of the French Navy. They are the most compact nuclear attack submarines to date.All submarines of the class are named after gemstones.-History:...

. Between October 1989 and May 1991, she undertook a major refit which upgraded her to the level of the Améthyste

FS Améthyste

The Améthyste is a nuclear-powered attack submarine of the French Navy, the fifth of the Rubis type. Her name is a pun on a precious stone and the acronym AMElioration Tactique, HydrodYnamique, Silence, Transmission, Ecoute . She is the first vessel to serve in the French Navy under that name...

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In September 2001, she torpedoed and sank the ex-destroyer D'Estrée expended as a target ship off Toulon.