In November 2000, a blade of the propeller on the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle, the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Western Europe, broke during a voyage in the Atlantic. This issue was traced back to a manufacturing defect known as shrinkage, which occurs when tiny air bubbles get trapped in the metal as it solidifies in a mold. This defect was linked to staff reductions at the supplier, Atlantic Industrie, which led to the loss of experienced workers who might have identified such flaws. The broken blade forced the carrier to return to its home port in Toulon for investigation and repairs. Upon inspection, the French Navy found that even the spare propellers, meant to replace faulty ones, had the same structural issues. To keep the Charles de Gaulle operational, the Navy used propellers recovered from retired aircraft carriers, the Foch and Clemenceau. These temporary solutions allowed the carrier to continue its missions but reduced its speed to 25 knots, down from the original 27 knots. This reduced speed remained in place for seven years while the Navy sought a more permanent solution. In May 2008, new propellers were finally installed. These were manufactured by Rolls-Royce Naval Marine in the United States and each weighed 20 tons with a diameter of 6 meters. The new propellers restored the ship's original speed and performance, which was crucial for landing Rafale Marine fighter jets. The propellers had been stored at the Toulon naval base since 2004, while a second set ordered from the original French manufacturer had not yet arrived. The Charles de Gaulle, built between 1989 and 2001 at an initial estimated cost of 16 billion francs, has faced numerous operational challenges during its service. These include high-speed vibrations in 1999, issues with abrasive runway paint damaging braking cables, radioactive contamination affecting twelve sailors in 2000, and a rupture in a desalination water pipe. One military official humorously noted that if repeated malfunctions don't kill, ridicule does, highlighting the ship's status as both a symbol of French technological power and a testament to ongoing industrial challenges.