French ship Suffren (1829)

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The Suffren was a 90-gun Ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She was the third ship in French service named in honour of Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez.

1/20th scale model on display at the Musée national de la Marine
History
French Navy EnsignFrance
NamesakePierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez
Laid down21 August 1824
Launched27 August 1829
Commissioned10 March 1831
Stricken4 April 1861
FateScrapped 1874
General characteristics
Class and typeSuffren class ship of the line
Displacement4 070 tonnes
Length60.50 m (198.5 ft)
Beam16.28 m (53.4 ft)
Draught7.40 m (24.3 ft)
Propulsion3114 m² of sails
Complement810 to 846 men
Armament
Armour6.97 cm of timber

Career

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The Suffren was the first ship of the line built with straight sides, after the specifications of the Commission de Paris, instead of the traditional tumblehome common on ships of the line.

She took part in the Battle of Tagus on 11 July 1831, under Captain Trotel, as Albin Roussin's flagship, and stayed off Lisbon for one month thereafter, leaving Portugal on 14 August.

The next year, she took part in the Battle of Ancona, on 22 February, ferrying 1500 infantrymen.

In 1838 she ran aground near Cádiz after a tempest. She was refloated by the steam ships Iéna and Phare.

She took part in the war against Morocco in August 1844, bombing Tangier on the 6 August and landing troops in Mogador on 16.

In 1854, Suffren was involved in the Crimean War. In July, an epidemic of cholera in the fleet in the Black Sea killed 20 and sickened 100 aboard. On 17 October, Suffren took part in the siege of Sevastopol.

The next year, she was converted to a troop ship. From 1857 to 1860, she was used as a gunnery school by the École Navale, before being stricken on 4 April 1861 and converted to a hulk. She was renamed Ajax on 8 April 1865, and scrapped in 1874.

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