Suffren represented an incremental French design lineage, with turreted secondary guns and increased main-battery ammunition. Her attacker, U-52, was a modest Type U 51 boat but a highly successful submarine across only four patrols. On 26 November 1916, Suffren sailed unescorted toward the Bay of Biscay; a torpedo struck and detonated a magazine, killing all 648 aboard before U-52 could find survivors. The contrast between an aging capital ship and a comparatively small submarine shows how one well-placed weapon could erase the defensive value of size and heavy armament.
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The loss of Suffren to U-52
The French pre-dreadnought Suffren was caught without an escort off Portugal and disappeared within seconds after U-52 detonated a magazine.