France cuts two nuclear-powered submarines in half to make one new one

A French nuclear-powered submarine severely damaged by fire last year has been saved from the scrapyard -- by cutting it in two and welding the salvageable half to part of another decommissioned sub.

An intense 14-hour-long accidental fire on the attack submarine Perle while it was in dry dock for repairs last June left the front section of the boat unusable, according to the French Defense Ministry. It suffered structural damage to steel components that could not be repaired. But the rear half of the 241-foot-long (73 meters) submarine, which has a displacement of 2,600 tons, was not damaged during the fire at a shipyard in Toulon, southern France.