# Suffren-class ship of the line

The Suffren class was a late type of 90-gun ships of the line of the French Navy.
The design was selected on 30 January 1824 by the Commission de Paris, an appointed Commission comprising Jean-Marguerite Tupinier, Jacques-Noël Sané, Pierre Rolland, Pierre Lair and Jean Lamorinière. Intended as successors of the 80-gun Bucentaure class and as the third of four ranks of ships of the line, they introduced the innovation of having straight walls, instead of the tumblehome design that had prevailed until then; this tended to heighten the ships' centre of gravity, but provided much more room for equipment in the upper decks. Stability issues were fixed with underwater stabilisers.
Only the first two, Suffren and Inflexible, retained the original design all through their career; the others were converted to steam and sail during their construction.

## Ships

Fourteen ships were ordered to this design, of which twelve were modified as steam-driven vessels.
* Suffren
    Builder: Cherbourg
    Begun: August 1824
    Launched: 27 August 1829
    Completed: March 1831
    Fate: Deleted February 1861, renamed Ajax in April 1865, and taken to pieces 1874-76.
* Inflexible
    Builder: Rochefort
    Begun: August 1827
    Launched: 21 November 1839
    Completed: August 1840
    Fate: Condemned August 1875.
* Bayard
    Builder: Lorient
    Begun: July 1823
    Launched: 28 August 1847
    Completed: August 1849
    Fate: Renamed Triton in August 1876
* Duguesclin
    Builder: Rochefort
    Begun: March 1823
    Launched: 3 May 1848
    Completed: August 1848
    Fate: Wrecked 14 December 1859; refloated and taken to pieces in June 1860
* Breslaw
    Builder: Brest
    Begun: May 1827
    Launched: 31 July 1848
    Completed: 1849
    Fate: Deleted in May 1871, renamed Breslau 1881 and taken to pieces 1886-87.
* Charlemagne
    Builder: Toulon
    Begun: April 1834
    Launched: 16 January 1851
    Completed: December 1851 (as steam screw ship)
    Fate: Condemned in February 1882. Taken to pieces 1884
* Jean Bart
    Builder: Lorient
    Begun: 26 January 1849
    Launched: 14 September 1852
    Completed: April 1853 (as steam screw ship)
    Fate: Renamed Donawerth in August 1868; sold or broken up in 1869
* Donawerth
    Builder: Lorient
    Begun: July 1827
    Launched: 15 February 1854
    Completed: July 1854
    Fate:
* Tilsitt
    Builder: Cherbourg
    Begun: March 1832 as Diomède, renamed 23 November 1839
    Launched: 30 March 1854
    Completed: May 1854
    Fate:
* Saint Louis
    Builder: Brest
    Begun: July 1848
    Launched: 25 April 1854
    Completed:
    Fate:
* Alexandre
    Builder: Rochefort
    Begun:May 1848
    Launched: 27 March 1857
    Completed:
    Fate:
* Fontenoy
    Builder: Toulon
    Begun: June 1827
    Launched: 2 December 1858
    Completed:
    Fate:
* Masséna
    Builder: Toulon
    Begun: September 1835
    Launched: 15 March 1860
    Completed:
    Fate:
* Castiglione
    Builder: Toulon
    Begun: October 1835
    Launched: 14 July 1860
    Completed:
    Fate:

## Citations

* ↑ Les vaisseaux de la commission de Paris (1824), Nicolas Mioque
* ↑ 80/90-guns ships-of-the-line Archived 2008-01-20 at the Wayback Machine