 Suffren offToulon on 23 October 1911 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators |  French Navy |
| Preceded by | Iéna |
| Succeeded by | République-class battleship |
| Built | 1898–1904 |
| In service | 1904–1916 |
| Completed | 1 |
| Lost | 1 |
| History | |
 France | |
| Name | Suffren |
| Namesake | Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez |
| Ordered | 21 April 1898 |
| Builder | Arsenal de Brest |
| Laid down | 5 January 1899 |
| Launched | 25 July 1899 |
| Commissioned | 3 February 1904 |
| Fate | Torpedoed and sunk, 26 November 1916 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Predreadnought battleship |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 125.91 m (413 ft 1 in) |
| Beam | 21.42 m (70 ft 3 in) |
| Draught | 8.22 m (27 ft) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 3 shafts, 3triple-expansion steam engines |
| Speed | 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
| Range | 3,086 nmi (5,715 km; 3,551 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement | 668 (normal), 742 (flagship) |
| Armament |
|
| Armour | |
Suffren was apredreadnought battleship built for theMarine Nationale (French Navy) in the first decade of the twentieth century. Completed in 1902, the ship was assigned to theEscadre de la Méditerranée (Mediterranean Squadron) for most of her career and often served as aflagship. She had an eventful career as she twice collided with French ships and twice hadpropeller shafts break before the start ofWorld War I in 1914.Suffren was assigned to join thenaval operations off the Dardanelles, where she participated in a series of attacks on theOttoman fortifications guarding the straits.
She was moderately damaged during the fighting on 18 March 1915 and had to be sent toToulon for repairs. Upon their completion the ship returned to provide gunfire support for theAllied forces during theGallipoli Campaign.Suffren provided covering fire as the Allies withdrew from the peninsula and accidentally sank one of the evacuation ships. After repairs the ship was assigned to the French squadron tasked to prevent any interference by theGreeks with Allied operations on theSalonica front. While en route toLorient for a refit,Suffren wastorpedoed offLisbon by anImperial German submarine on 26 November 1916 and sank with all hands.
The three battleships of theCharlemagne class that had been authorized in 1893 were still building when theNavy Minister,Vice-amiral (Vice Admiral)Armand Besnard, was able to get theChamber of Deputies to authorize the battleshipIéna in 1897 to an improvedCharlemagne design. The Chamber authorized another battleship the following year and Besnard, not wishing to delay construction for the time required for an entirely new design, requested an enlarged and improved version ofIéna.[1]
Suffren was intended to have only modest improvements in armament and armour, but the number of improvements grew as the project was discussed by theConseil des travaux de la Marine (Board of Construction) so that she was essentially a new design, retaining only some ofIéna's layout. The biggest changes were that the bulk of thesecondary armament was mounted inturrets, rather thanIéna'scasemates, and the stowage of shells for the main armament was increased from 45 to 60 rounds per gun.[2]
Suffren was 3.55 m (11 ft 8 in) longer thanIéna, being 125.91 m (413 ft 1 in) longoverall. She had abeam of 21.42 m (70 ft 3 in) and adraught of 7.39 m (24 ft 3 in) forward and 8.22 m (27 ft) aft. She displaced 12,432 t (12,236long tons) at normal displacement, and 12,892 t (12,688 long tons) atfull load, over 700 t (690 long tons) more than the earlier ship.Suffren was fitted withbilge keels to reduce herrolling.[3] Her crew numbered 31 officers and 637 men as aprivate ship and 42 officers and 700 sailors as a flagship.[4]
Suffren was powered by three Indretvertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving onepropeller shaft. The centre shaft drove a three-bladedscrew propeller and the wing propellers were four-bladed; each was 4.39 m (14 ft 5 in) in diameter. The engines used steam provided by 24Niclausse boilers at a working pressure of 18 kg/cm2 (1,765 kPa; 256 psi). Rated at a total of 16,200 ihp (12,100 kW), the engines were intended to give the ship a speed of 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph). During hersea trials on 12 November 1903, they produced 16,809 ihp (12,534 kW) and gave a top speed of 17.9 kn (33.2 km/h; 20.6 mph). The ship carried a maximum of 1,233 t (1,214 long tons) of coal which allowed her to steam for 3,086 nmi (5,715 km; 3,551 mi) at a speed of 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph).Suffren carried 52.15 t (51.33 long tons) offuel oil to be sprayed on the coal to improve its burn rate. The ship's 80-volt electrical power was provided by two 600-ampere and three 1,200-amperedynamos.[5]
LikeIéna,Suffren carried her main armament of four 40-calibreCanon de 305 mm (12 in) Modèle 1893/96 guns in two twin-gun turrets, one each fore and aft of thesuperstructure. The turrets weretraversed by electric motors, but were elevated and depressed by hand. The guns were loaded at an angle of −5° and they had a maximumelevation of +15°. They fired 349.4 kg (770 lb)armour-piercing projectiles at the rate of roughly oneround per minute. They had amuzzle velocity of 855 m/s (2,810 ft/s) which gave a range of 12,000 m (13,000 yd) at maximum elevation.Suffren carried 60 shells for each gun with each turret holding ready-use racks for 22 projectiles.[6]
The ship's secondary armament consisted of ten 45-calibreCanon de 164.7 mm (6.5 in) Modèle 1893/96 guns. Six of these were mounted in single-gun turrets on each side of the superstructure and the remaining four guns were positioned below them on theupper deck in individual casemates that weresponsoned out over thetumblehome of the sides. The guns fired 54.9 kg (121 lb) shells at a muzzle velocity of 900 m/s (3,000 ft/s) to a maximum range of 10,800 m (11,800 yd). Their theoreticalrate of fire was between two and three rounds per minute.Suffren carried 200 shells for each gun. She also carried eight 45-calibreCanon de 100 mm (3.9 in) Modèle 1893 guns inshielded mounts on the shelter deck and on the superstructure. These guns fired a 16 kg (35 lb) projectile at 710 m/s (2,300 ft/s), which could be elevated up to +20° for a maximum range of 9,000 m (9,800 yd). Their maximum rate of fire was four rounds per minute. The ship carried 2,000 shells for these guns.[7]
For defence againsttorpedo boats,Suffren mounted twenty-two 50-calibreCanon de 47 mm (1.9 in) Modèle 1885 Hotchkiss guns. They were positioned in thefighting tops and on the superstructure. They fired a 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) projectile at 650 m/s (2,100 ft/s) to a maximum range of 5,000 m (5,500 yd). Their theoretical maximum rate of fire was fifteen rounds per minute, but only seven rounds per minute sustained.Suffren carried 16,500 rounds for these guns. Two 37 mm (1.5 in) Modèle 1885Hotchkiss guns were also mounted on the upperbridge.[8]
The ship was equipped with four 450 mm (17.7 in)torpedo tubes on thebroadside. Two of these were submerged,abaft the forward turret, and fixed at a 30° angle to the side. The two above-water tubes could traverse 80°. NormallySuffren carried twelve Modèle 1892 torpedoes, of which four were training models.[9]
Suffren had a completewaterlinearmour belt ofHarvey armour that had a maximum thickness of 300 mm (11.8 in) amidships and reduced to 250 mm (9.8 in) at the bow and 230 mm (9.1 in) at the stern. The lower edge of this belt was 124 mm (4.9 in) in thickness amidships and thinned to 113 mm (4.4 in) at thebow and 100 mm (3.9 in) at the stern. The armour plates were 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) high of which 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) was above the waterline and 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) below it. Above this was astrake of special-steel armour that extended from the bow to the aft transversebulkhead below the aft main-gun turret. In thickness it ranged from 70 mm (2.8 in) at the bow to 110 mm (4.3 in) amidships. This armour was backed by a highly subdividedcofferdam intended to reduce flooding from any penetrating hits as its compartments were filled by water-resistant "bricks" of driedZostera seaweed (briquettes de zostère). The outer sides of the casemates were protected by special-steel plates 110 millimetres thick. The casemates were separated by an 80 mm (3.1 in) transverse bulkhead and acentreline bulkhead 50 mm (2 in) thick subdivided the casemates.[10]
The main turret armour was 290 mm (11.4 in) in thickness with a 50-millimetre roof and thebarbettes were protected by 250 mm (9.8 in) of armour. The armour for the secondary turrets ranged from 102 mm (4 in) thick at the front to 192 mm (7.6 in) at the rear. Theconning tower had walls 224–274 mm (8.8–10.8 in) thick and its communications tube was protected by 150 mm (5.9 in) of armour. The armoured deck consisted of 55–60 mm (2.2–2.4 in)mild-steel plates laid over two 10 mm (0.39 in) plates. The splinter deck beneath it comprised two layers of 19 mm (0.75 in) plates.[11]
Suffren, named afterVice-amiralPierre André de Suffren de Saint-Tropez,[12] was ordered on 21 April 1898 from theArsenal de Brest.[2] She waslaid down on 5 January 1899[13] andlaunched on 25 July of the same year. Herfitting-out was delayed by the late delivery of fittings and armour.Suffren began her sea trials in November 1903, but was notcommissioned until 3 February 1904. On 18 August 1903 she participated in a gunnery trial with the predreadnoughtMasséna offÎle Longue. A mild-steel plate 55 cm (21.7 in) thick, measuring 225 by 95 cm (7 ft 5 in by 3 ft 1 in), was attached to the side ofSuffren's forward turret to determine the resistance of an armour plate to a large-calibre shell with sixsheep placed in the turret to simulate its crew.Masséna anchored 100 m (330 ft) away fromSuffren and fired a number of 305-millimetre shells at the plate. The first three were training shells that knocked splinters off the armour plate. The last two shells, fired with full charges, cracked the plate, butSuffren's turret was fully operational, as was her Germain electricalfire-control system, and the sheep were unharmed. One splinter struckMasséna above her armour belt and left a 15-centimetre sized hole in her hull. Another 50 kg (110 lb) splinter landed within a few metres of the Naval Minister,Camille Pelletan, who was observing the trials.[14]
WhenSuffren was commissioned in Brest, she was assigned to theEscadre de la Méditerranée shortly afterwards. After arriving inToulon, she became the flagship of its commander,Vice-amiralPalma Gourdon, on 24 February. Two months later she carried thePresident of France,Émile Loubet, on astate visit toNaples.[15] As time went by several defects were revealed in service, including the weakness of the underpoweredcapstan which was barely capable of raising the anchor in waters 15–20 m (49–66 ft) deep. Another problem was that the centre engine and its propeller shaft tended to overheat. Gourdon was relieved byVice-amiralCharles Touchard on 4 October 1905. During fleet exercises off the Îles desHyères on 5 February 1906,Suffren accidentally rammed thesubmarineBonite when the latter miscalculated the fleet's movements while manoeuvring into firing position.Bonite rose to periscope depth less than 30 m (98 ft) in front ofSuffren, but the latter managed to turn quickly enough while the submarine wascrash-diving thatSuffren only struckBonite a glancing blow. This was enough, however, to breach two compartments abreast the ship's starboard engine room and she had to be docked for emergency repairs.Bonite's bow was crushed and several of herballast tanks were ripped open. Only by rapidly dropping her weightedkeel was the submarine able to avoid sinking. No casualties were suffered by either vessel. During the summer of 1906Suffren's above-water torpedo tubes were removed. She then participated in an internationalfleet review inMarseille on 16 September.[16]
She wasdrydocked adjacent toIéna on 12 March 1907 at Toulon when the latter ship'smagazine exploded. Burning fragments started a small fire aboardSuffren, but she was not otherwise damaged by the explosion and participated in the annual fleet manoeuvres that began on 1 July. By 5 November, the ship had been replaced as flagship by thesemi-dreadnoughtPatrie, although she remained assigned to the1re Division cuirassée (1st Battle Division). In early 1908 a 2 m (6 ft 7 in)Barr and Stroudrangefinder was mounted on the navigation bridge.Suffren was transferred to the3e Division cuirassée in July. During manoeuvres offGolfe-Juan on 13 August, the ship'sport propeller shaft broke and the propeller fell off in water 26 m (85 ft) deep. While a new shaft was ordered from Indret,Iéna'ssalvaged corresponding shaft was used with such success that the ship's engineers requested to keep it in place and save the new shaft as a spare. This proposal was rejected by the Naval Ministry and the shafts were exchanged. The opportunity was also taken to rework the centre propeller shaft's mounting so that it would overheat less often. In 1909 the battleships of theEscadre de la Méditerranée were reorganised into twoEscadre de ligne (battle squadrons), each with a pair of three-ship divisions; the3e Division cuirassée now assigned to the2e Escadre de ligne.Suffren, as the most modern of the predreadnoughts, was often attached to the1re Escadre de ligne to replace ships that were refitting or under repair. In November 1910 the starboard propeller shaft broke and the propeller was lost in deep water.[17] No shaft was immediately available soSuffren had to wait three months for repairs; her boilers were overhauled while a new one was manufactured. On 14 February 1911 the portanchor chain broke whileSuffren was conducting towing exercises with two other battleships, killing one sailor and injuring two others. The ship participated in a naval review near Toulon on 4 September. TheEscadre de la Méditerranée was renamed the1er Armée Navale (1st Naval Army) on 31 October as theMarine Nationale concentrated its forces in the Mediterranean.[18]
When the magazines of the semi-dreadnoughtLiberté exploded in Toulon on 25 September 1911, flying debris from the explosion killed four men aboardSuffren. The ship was reassigned to the2e Division cuirassée of the2e Escadre de ligne as a replacement for the destroyed battleship. She was transferred to the1re Division cuirassée of the3e Escadre de ligne on 14 March 1913 and became the flagship ofVice-amiralLaurent Marin-Darbel, commander of theEscadre de ligne, four days later. The annual manoeuvres of the1er Armée Navale began on 19 May; when they were concluded the ships were reviewed by PresidentRaymond Poincaré. The3e Escadre de ligne was dissolved on 11 November andSuffren became the flagship ofContre-amiral (Rear Admiral)Gabriel Darrieus, commander of theDivision de complément (Complementary Division), four days later and he was relieved in his turn byContre-amiralÉmile Guépratte on 1 April 1914. During a fleet exercise on 28 May,Suffren accidentally rammed the battleshipDémocratie; the latter ship was undamaged, butSuffren had her port anchor andhawsepipe carried away and a 1.5 by 1 m (4 ft 11 in by 3 ft 3 in) hole punched in her hull that forced her to return to port for emergency repairs.[19]
When theMarine Nationale mobilized in anticipation of war on 1 August, the Division de complément was ordered toAlgiers,French Algeria, to protect the convoy route toMetropolitan France. They conducted their first escort mission on 6 August before arriving atBizerte,French Tunisia, on the 22nd where they began conducting contraband patrols in theSicilian Narrows. In SeptemberSuffren was fitted with additional Barr and Stroud rangefinders near the bridge. Two of these were mounted on transverse rails fore and aft of the bridge. The after bulkhead was removed and the two 100-millimetre guns on the side of the superstructure were moved one deck lower. Guépratte complained that his ships were not well suited to such a mission and he was ordered to takeSuffren, the predreadnoughtSaint Louis and thetorpedo cruiserCassini toPort Said,Egypt, to escort troop convoys fromBritish India on 23 September. The following day he was ordered to rendezvous with the semi-dreadnoughtVérité at the island ofTenedos where he was to place himself under the orders of the British Vice-AdmiralSackville Carden to assist British ships in blockading theDardanelles to prevent anysortie by the OttomanbattlecruiserYavuz Sultan Selim and thelight cruiserMidilli back into the Mediterranean. TheDivision de complément was renamed theDivision des Dardanelles (Dardanelles Division) to reflect its new role. On 3 November the two French battleships joined British ships bombarding the Ottoman fortifications at the mouth of the Dardanelles. The short bombardment by the Allies, during whichSuffren fired 30 shells from her main guns, did little damage, but alerted the Ottomans that their defences there required strengthening. After the predreadnoughtGaulois arrived on 16 NovemberSuffren sailed for Toulon for a lengthy refit.[20]
Suffren returned to the Dardanelles on 9 January 1915 and resumed her role as the flagship of the squadron. She bombarded the Ottoman fort ofKum Kale, on the Asiatic side of the strait on 19 February.Bouvet assistedSuffren by sending firing corrections viaradio whileGaulois providedcounter-battery fire to suppress the Ottomancoastal artillery. Late in the day the British predreadnoughtHMS Vengeance was bombarding the fort at Orhaniye Tepe on the Asiatic side of the strait and began taking heavy fire as she approached the fort. The battlecruiserHMS Inflexible attempted to suppress the coastal artillery to allowVengeance to extricate herself, but was unsuccessful.Suffren andGaulois had to combine their fire with that ofInflexible beforeVengeance could successfully withdraw.[21]Suffren fired thirty 305-millimetre shells and 227 shells from her secondary guns during the day.[22]
Suffren also participated in a more limited way in the bombardment of 25 February against the same targets, but this was far more successful asSuffren and the other ships moved as close as 3,000 yd (2,700 m) from the forts. On 2 March the French squadron bombarded targets in theGulf of Saros at the base of theGallipoli Peninsula. On 7 March the French squadron attempted to suppress the Ottoman guns in the Dardanelles while British battleships bombarded the fortifications. Guépratte and his squadron returned to the Gulf of Saros on 11 March where they again bombarded Ottoman fortifications.[23]
They returned to assist in the major attack on the fortifications planned for 18 March. British ships made the initial entry into the Dardanelles, but the French ships passed through them to engage the forts at closer range. Shortly after having done soSuffren was under heavy fire and was struck no less than 14 times in 15 minutes. Most did no significant damage, including a 24 cm (9.4 in) shell that bounced off the after 305-millimetre turret, but one 24-centimetre shell ricocheted off the port midships 164-millimetre turret and ripped the roof off the port casemate, killing the entire gun crew. Some flaming debris dropped into that gun's magazine and started a fire, but it was quickly flooded to prevent an explosion. Another shell punctured a hole 80 mm (3.1 in) across in the bow which flooded the base of the forward turret. While the French squadron was withdrawing pursuant to AdmiralJohn de Robeck's orderBouvet struck anaval mine and sank in 55 seconds.Suffren lowered her admiral's barge, her only intact boat, and rescued 75 men before she had to escort the badly damagedGaulois away from the Dardanelles. The latter was taking on water by the bow and had to bebeached on one of theRabbit Islands at the entrance of the Dardanelles before she sank.[24]
Suffren was ordered to escortGaulois to Toulon viaMalta on 25 March. Two days later the ships encountered a storm and were forced to seek refuge in theBay of Navarin.Suffren arrived at Toulon on 3 April and was repaired by 20 May when she returned to the Dardanelles to provide gunfire support for the troops ashore. She remained in the area until 31 December; upon returning to her anchorage atKefalos on the island ofKos, she collided with and sank the British steamerSaint Oswald, a horse transport involved in the evacuation from Gallipoli, and was badly damaged.Suffren arrived in Toulon on 20 January 1916 for repairs which were completed by April. That month she joined the French squadron of six predreadnoughts assigned to prevent any interference by the Greeks with Allied operations on theSalonica front. On 9 JulySuffren briefly became flagship of the reestablished3e Escadre de ligne whenPatrie departed for a refit at Toulon. With the creation of arival pro-Entente government in Greece in August, the Entente became concerned that the royal government might interfere with its use of Greek ports in October asKing Constantine I endeavored to maintain Greek neutrality. On 7 OctoberPatrie,Démocratie, andSuffren entered the harbour ofEleusina prepared to fire on the Greek predreadnoughtsKilkis andLimnos and the cruiserElli, but things were resolved peacefully and the French ships returned to their base.[25]
Suffren was originally intended to refit at the naval base at Bizerte, but the location was switched when the dockyard atLorient informed the Naval Staff that it had room for her. On 15 November the ship departed torecoal at Bizerte which she reached on 18 November. She sailed on 20 November forGibraltar; heavy weather en route delayed her arrival until 23 November.Suffren recoaled and departed Gibraltar the following day without an escort. On the morning of 26 November, roughly 50 nmi (93 km; 58 mi) off the Portuguese coast nearLisbon, she was torpedoed by the German submarineSM U-52, which was en route to theAustro-Hungarian naval base atCattaro in theAdriatic Sea. The torpedo detonated a magazine andSuffren sank within seconds, taking her entire crew of 648 with her.U-52 searched the scene, but found no survivors.[26]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1907 | |
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| Other incidents |
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in November 1916 | |
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| Shipwrecks | |
| Other incidents |
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