Lewin of Greenwich Naval History & Forum

FS Saint Louis pictured c1902.....She was the last of the three Charlemagne-Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleships,built at Arsenal de Lorient,Brittany in 1900. She spent most of her career assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron (escadre de la Méditerranée) and usually was chosen to serve as a flagship.
When World War I began, she escorted Allied troop convoys for the first two months. Saint Louis was ordered to the Dardanelles in November 1914 to guard against a sortie into the Mediterranean by the German Battlecruiser SMS Goeben. In 1915, she was transferred to the Eastern Mediterranean where she participated in bombarding Turkish positions in Palestine and the Sinai Peninsula.She returned to the Dardanelles in May and provided fire support during the Gallipoli Campaign. Saint Louis was transferred to the squadron assigned to prevent any interference by the Greeks with Allied operations on the Salonica front in May 1916, after a lengthy refit in France.She was placed in reserve in April 1917 and briefly became a Training Ship in 1919–20. She was converted to serve as an Accommodation Hulk in 1920 at Toulon and listed for disposal as scrap in 1931. Saint Louis did not find a buyer, however, until 1933.

Charlemagne Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship FS Saint Louis at full speed c 1903.

Charlemagne Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship Saint Louis pictured c1900.

Modified Charlemagne Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship Suffren pictured c1904..

Charlemagne Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship Iéna pictured at Arsenal de Brest in 1905.

Charlemagne Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleships Gaulois and Saint Louis pictured c1903.

Lead Ship, Pre-Dreadnought Battleship Suffren pictured at Toulon on October 23rd 1911. Built at Arsenal de Brest and completed in 1902, she was assigned to the Escadre de la Méditerranée (Mediterranean Squadron) for most of her career and often served as a flagship. She had an eventful career as she twice collided with French ships and twice had propeller shafts break before the start of WWI in 1914. Suffren was assigned to join the naval operations off the Dardanelles, where she participated in a series of attacks on the Ottoman fortifications guarding the straits.
She was moderately damaged during the fighting on March 18th 1915 and had to be sent to Toulon for repairs. Upon completion the ship returned to provide gunfire support for the Allied forces during the Gallipoli 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 the Greeks with Allied operations on the Salonica front. While en route to Lorient for a refit, Suffren was torpedoed off Lisbon by German Submarine SM-52 on November 26th 1916, the torpedo detonated one of her magazines and Suffren sank within seconds, taking her entire crew of 648 with her, U-52 searched the scene but found no survivors.

Charlemagne Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship Saint Louis pictured at Gallipoli in 1916.