''Suffren'' was a of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

, designed to protect a fleet against air threats, surface ships, submarines, and, to a lesser extent, provide firepower against land objectives. She is the sister ship of , and was decommissioned in 2001. She was the seventh French vessel named after the 18th century admiral

Pierre André de Suffren Admiral comte Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez, bailli de Suffren (17 July 1729 – Paris, 8 December 1788), Château de Saint-Cannat) was a French Navy officer and admiral. Beginning his career during the War of the Austrian Success ...

Background and description

Ships of the ''Suffren'' class were designed as anti-air and anti-submarine escorts for the s and were similar in concept to the British

Type 82 destroyer The Type 82 or ''Bristol''-class destroyer was a 1960s guided missile destroyer design intended to replace s in the Royal Navy. Originally eight warships were planned to provide area air-defence for the planned CVA-01 aircraft carriers. They ...

. They were ordered in 1960 as part of France's new naval policy of deterrence/intervention/defence following the election of Charles de Gaulle as

president of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency i ...

. The French designation for the class was ''frégates lance-engins'' (FLE 60). They were designated as frigates by the

but were considered destroyers by publications. They were later re-designated ''frégates lance-missiles'' (FLM 60). The vessel measured long overall and

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

, with a beam and a maximum draught of . The ship had a

standard displacement The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

of and at

full load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

. By 1990 the ship had a standard displacement of and at full load. ''Suffren'' was powered by four multi-tube, automatic control boilers creating steam for two sets of Rateau double-reduction geared turbines turning two propellers. They were rated at . They created a total of 3,440 kW of electrical power through two 1,000 kW

turbocharger In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

s and three 480 kW diesel alternators. ''Suffren'' had a maximum speed of and a range of at . The frigate had a complement of 355 sailors including 23 officers. For increased stabilisation as a weapons platform, the frigate was outfitted with three pairs of non-retractable fin stabilisers. Ships of the ''Suffren'' class were considered extremely seaworthy vessels. The ''Suffren'' class were armed with a twin launcher situated on the quarterdeck for the

Masurca The Masurca missile was a first-generation naval surface-to-air missile system developed and used by the French Navy. Planned as the primary air defence missile system of the first generation of French guided missile ships, it was used only aboar ...

surface-to-air missile. 48 missiles were carried. The frigates were also equipped with two single-mounted Modèle 1953 naval guns in positions 'A' and 'B' along the centreline. These were later upgraded to the Modèle 1964. The frigates also mounted a

Malafon Malafon (MArine LAtécoère FONds) was a French ship-launched anti-submarine missile system. Developed in the 1950s and 1960s, the weapon was intended to take advantage of the greater detection ranges possible with towed sonar arrays. The missil ...

anti-submarine missile system. Each ship carried 13 missiles and the magazine was situated in the aft

deckhouse A cabin or berthing is an enclosed space generally on a ship or an aircraft. A cabin which protrudes above the level of a ship's deck may be referred to as a deckhouse. Sailing ships In sailing ships, the officers and paying passengers wo ...

. Furthermore, the ''Suffren'' class had four launchers for L5

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

es, two to each side of the ship, housed in the deckhouse between the mast and the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

. Each ship carried ten torpedoes. They were the first French warships to deploy torpedoes using fixed catapults. Fire control was via the DRBI 23 3D radar for air search/tracking housed in a massive

radome A radome (a portmanteau of radar and dome) is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a radar antenna. The radome is constructed of material transparent to radio waves. Radomes protect the antenna from weather and conceal antenna e ...

that dominated the ship's silhouette. The ''Suffren'' class also mounted DRBN 32, DRBV 50, two DRBR 51 and DRBC 32A radars. For anti-submarine warfare, they were equipped with DUBV 23 hull-mounted

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on o ...

and DUBV 43 towed

variable depth sonar A towed array sonar is a system of hydrophones towed behind a submarine or a surface ship on a cable. Trailing the hydrophones behind the vessel, on a cable that can be kilometers long, keeps the array's sensors away from the ship's own noise sour ...

. For electronic defence, the vessels initially mounted the Syllex chaff system. The SENIT I tactical data system coordinated sensor data.

Modifications

In 1977 to 1979, the MM38 Exocet

anti-ship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A goo ...

system was fitted to ''Suffren''. The ship carried four missiles. The Masuraca system was upgraded between 1982–1985. ''Suffren'' had its DRBV 50 radar replaced with the advanced DRBV 15 system in 1989–1990 while also having its DRBC 32A gunfire control radar replaced with the newer DRBC 33A system. Furthermore during that refit, the Syllex outfit was replaced with the Dagaie and Sagaie electronic countermeasures systems. Additionally four single-mounted cannon were fitted two to each side of the ship abaft the DRBC 33A radar.

Construction and career

''Suffren'' was named after the French admiral

. ''Suffren'' accompanied the ''Clemenceau''-class aircraft carriers on deployments and as a result was based with them as part of the French Atlantic Fleet upon entering service. In 1975, when the ''Clemenceau''s were transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet, ''Suffren'' went with them and was based at

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

. ''Suffren''s service-life extension refit was delayed due to the ship's deployments to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

during the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations S ...

. ''Suffren''s refit took place from 1989 to 1990. ''Suffren'' was retired on 2 April 2001. The ''Suffren'' class was replaced by the s.

Notes

Citations

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Suffren Suffren-class frigates Cold War frigates of France 1965 ships Ships built in France