HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant submarine collision across the seabed". However, a government spokesman said that there "was no compromise to nuclear safety". Hervé Morin, France's Minister of Defence, said that they "face an extremely simple technological problem, which is that these submarines are not detectable". HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant submarine collision The submarines HMS "Vanguard" and "Triomphant" collided in the Atlantic Ocean in the night between 3–4 February 2009. Both are nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. The Royal Navy's and the French Navy's both sustained damage, but no injuries or radioactivity releases were reported. At the time of the collision, both vessels were submerged and, according
French submarine Plongeur French submarine Plongeur Plongeur (French for "Diver") was a French submarine launched on 16 April 1863. She was the first submarine in the world to be propelled by mechanical (rather than human) power. Captain Siméon Bourgeois, who made the plans, and naval constructor Charles Brun began working on the design in 1859 at Rochefort. In 1859 the Conseil des Travaux called naval engineers for designs for a submarine and reviewed three, choosing that submitted by Siméon Bourgeois (later Admiral) and Charles Brun, naming the project "Plongeur" with the code name Q00. The submarine used a compressed-air engine, propelled by stored