The Le Redoutable ballistic missile submarine, equipped with nuclear propulsion, was the first French-made nuclear submarine, built at the Cherbourg arsenal. The first is its series, Le Redoutable was launched by General de Gaulle on March 29, 1967. The submarines weighed 9,500 tons and reached over 20 knots when diving, an unprecedented performance at the time. On board Le Redoutable, two crews of 135 people were assigned and took turns to ensure mission continuity from 55 to 75 days.