French Defense Ministry appeared not to have known in the immediate aftermath that its submarine, Le Triomphant, had struck the British submarine, H.M.S. Vanguard. On Feb. 6, the ministry released a statement in Paris saying that the French vessel had “collided with an immersed object,” which it described as probably a drifting cargo container, and that the submarine’s sonar dome, located in its nose and crucial to its ability to track other vessels, had been seriously damaged...
French officials said Monday that they realized that Le Triomphant had rammed the British vessel only after sending inquiries to other navies about the deep-sea impact...
France's Le Triomphant carries 111 crew and 15 nuclear missiles, according to defense analysis group Jane's.
HMS Vanguard came into service in 1993, has a crew of around 140 and typically carries 16 Lockheed Trident D5 missiles.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/world ... ne.html?hp
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090216/ap_ ... _collision
