Transatlantic Cruise on Celebrity Constellation / Eg_Le_Redoutable April 11, 2008 cinstan@shieldsville.com

Commissioned on 1 December 1971, Le Redoutable was the first French SNLE (Sous-marin Nucléaire Lanceur d'Engins, "Device-Launching Nuclear Submarine"). She was fitted with 16 M1 ballistic missiles, delivering 450kt at 2000 kilometres. In 1974, she was refitted with the M2 missile, and later with the M20, each delivering a one-megatonne warhead at a range over 3000 kilometres. The Redoutable was the only ship of her class not to be refitted with the M4 missile. The Redoutable had a 20-year duty history, with 51 patrols. She was decommissioned in 1991. Since 2000, at the Cité de la mer , she is the largest submarine open to the public.