Suffren followed Iéna and the Charlemagne class through successive changes to an existing design, while further requirements accumulated during construction-board discussions. Most of her secondary guns moved from casemates into turrets, and the main-battery allowance rose from 45 to 60 rounds per gun, or 240 rounds for the four 12-inch guns. The 6.5-inch shells weighed about 50 to 52 kilograms, a load generally requiring two people to handle and mechanical assistance in service. Their stated firing rate was theoretically two to three rounds per minute. An effective range of about 9,000 meters at 25 degrees is contrasted with a theoretical 18,000 meters at 36 degrees, where controlling what the shells hit became much less credible.
Notable Point · 1:56:44-2:00:16
Why Suffren's 6.5-inch shells strained manual handling
Suffren's turreted 6.5-inch secondary battery sat at an awkward boundary where nominally hand-worked ammunition was heavy enough to require mechanical assistance.