''D'Entrecasteaux'' was a large
protected cruiser
Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers r ...
built for 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 th ...
in the 1890s. The only vessel of her
class
Class or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...
, ''D'Entrecasteaux'' was intended to serve as a
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the f ...
of the cruiser
squadron
Squadron may refer to:
* Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies
* Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, d ...
that defended
French Indochina
French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
and other possessions in the
Far East
The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.
The te ...
. Her construction came during a period of conflict in the French naval command between factions that favored different cruiser types; ''D'Entrecasteaux'' represented the ideas of the , who favored large cruisers for long-range operations overseas. She was armed with a
main battery
A main battery is the primary weapon or group of weapons around which a warship is designed. As such, a main battery was historically a gun or group of guns, as in the broadsides of cannon on a ship of the line. Later, this came to be turreted ...
of two guns, the largest guns ever carried aboard a French cruiser, though their great weight, coupled with her pronounced
ram bow
A ram was a weapon fitted to varied types of ships, dating back to antiquity. The weapon comprised an underwater prolongation of the bow of the ship to form an armoured beak, usually between 2 and 4 meters (6–12 ft) in length. This would be dri ...
degraded her
seaworthiness
Seakeeping ability or seaworthiness is a measure of how well-suited a watercraft is to conditions when underway. A ship or boat which has good seakeeping ability is said to be very seaworthy and is able to operate effectively even in high sea stat ...
. She nevertheless provided the basis for later
armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast en ...
s.
''D'Entrecasteaux'' was initially deployed to Indochina, where she took part in
Eight-Nation Alliance
The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, then besieged by the popular Boxer militia, who were determined to remove f ...
operations during the
Boxer Uprising
The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, b ...
, including the
Battle of the Taku Forts in June 1900. Problems with her guns forced her to return to France for repairs in 1903, though she returned to Indochina for another tour from 1905 to 1909. She was modernized in 1909–1912 and served as the flagship of the Training Squadron until the start of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
in July 1914. The ship spent much of the war in the eastern
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
, where she assisted in the defense of the
Suez Canal from
Ottoman
Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to:
Governments and dynasties
* Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924
* Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...
attacks and patrolled the coast of
Ottoman Syria
Ottoman Syria ( ar, سوريا العثمانية) refers to divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of Syria, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and so ...
. She was transferred for operations elsewhere after 1916, including supporting Arab rebels in the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
and escorting
convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be use ...
s in the Indian Ocean.
After the war, ''D'Entrecasteaux'' helped to carry French troops back from the (Army of the East) before being placed in
reserve in June 1919. She was struck from the
naval register
A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...
in 1922 and transferred to the
Belgian Navy
The Belgian Navy, officially the Belgian Naval Component ( nl, Marinecomponent; french: Composante marine; german: Marinekomponente ) of the Belgian Armed Forces, is the naval service of Belgium.
History Early history
The Belgian Navy w ...
in 1923, where she served as a
depot ship
A depot ship is an auxiliary ship used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing and ...
for three years. After briefly returning to France in 1926, she was sold to the
Polish Navy in 1927, which renamed the vessel ''Król Władysław IV'' and then ''Bałtyk''. Employed as a stationary
training ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...
, she remained in Polish service until the
German invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
in September 1939, when she was damaged by German aircraft. She was captured by the Germans and used as a
barracks ship
A barracks ship or barracks barge or berthing barge, or in civilian use accommodation vessel or accommodation ship, is a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a superstructure of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for s ...
before being
broken up
Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction ...
around 1942.
Background
In the mid-1880s, elements in the French naval command argued over future warship construction; the advocated building long-range and fast
protected cruiser
Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers r ...
s for use as
commerce raider
Commerce raiding (french: guerre de course, "war of the chase"; german: Handelskrieg, "trade war") is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than eng ...
s on foreign stations while a traditionalist faction preferred larger
armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast en ...
s and small fleet scouts, both of which were to operate as part of the main fleet in home waters. This led to the development of two types of cruisers: medium ships of and smaller ships of around . By the end of the decade and into the early 1890s, the traditionalists were ascendant, leading to the construction of several armored cruisers of the , though the supporters of the secured approval for one large cruiser built according to their ideas, which became ''D'Entrecasteaux''. They were able to leverage the acquisition of
French Indochina
French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
in the 1880s, which required a permanent squadron of warships to control and defend the colony. ''D'Entrecasteaux'' was intended to serve as a
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the f ...
for the squadron, and as such, was designed with additional facilities to accommodate an admiral and his staff.
Design

Design work on the ship began in 1891 with a version armed with four guns in the same
lozenge
Lozenge or losange may refer to:
*Lozenge (shape), a type of rhombus
*Throat lozenge, a tablet intended to be dissolved slowly in the mouth to suppress throat ailments
*Lozenge (heraldry), a diamond-shaped object that can be placed on the field of ...
arrangement as the contemporary
pre-dreadnought battleship
Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, prot ...
s like . They were also to carry eight guns. The (Council of Works) decided in a meeting on 7 July that
displacement
Displacement may refer to:
Physical sciences
Mathematics and Physics
*Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
should be limited to if possible; this limitation precluded an armament of four large-caliber guns if the latest
water-tube boiler
A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...
s were retained. In an attempt to keep displacement under the limit, the considered scaling down the level of armor protection or reducing the caliber or number of guns. They ultimately decided to remove the
amidships
This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th ...
240 mm guns and to supplement the ship's firepower with four more 138 mm guns.
The refined design included a sailing rig to supplement the ship's engines on long voyages overseas, but the French naval ministry issued a directive on 2 March 1892 to abandon the use of sails in cruising warships. ''D'Entrecasteaux''s design was accordingly altered. The then issued requests for finalized designs meeting their specifications from four naval architects and three private shipyards, which were evaluated during a meeting on 29 March. Three proposals were chosen for further refinement, and after a second round, two were approved on 31 January 1893. After further evaluation, the ship proposed by the architect
Amable Lagane
Amable is a French given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Amable Aristy (born 1949), Dominican politician and businessman
* Amable Audin (1899–1990), French archaeologist
* Amable Bapaume (1825–1895), French novelist, journalist ...
, of the shipyard, on 8 November. By the time the design was finalized, weight constraints had forced Lagane to abandon water-tube boilers for
fire-tube boiler
A fire-tube boiler is a type of boiler in which hot gases pass from a fire through one or more tubes running through a sealed container of water. The heat of the gases is transferred through the walls of the tubes by thermal conduction, heating t ...
s, which were smaller but obsolescent.
A
sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
to ''D'Entrecasteaux'' was approved on 21 August 1895, which was to have been built to the second design the had approved, and was to have been named ''Jeanne d'Arc''. But the new naval minister,
Édouard Lockroy
Édouard Lockroy (18 July 183822 November 1913) was a French politician.
He was born in Paris, the son of Joseph Philippe Simon (1803–1891), an actor and dramatist who took the name of Lockroy.
Revolutionary years
He had begun by studying art ...
, cancelled the ship in early 1896 in favor of another armored cruiser without consulting the , which oversaw naval construction. Lockroy was replaced as naval minister in April 1896, and his successor,
Armand Besnard
Gustave Besnard (11 October 1833, Rambouillet – 15 July 1903, Château du Rohu near Lorient) was a French admiral and '' Ministre de la Marine''.
Biography
From the time he joined the French Navy as a cadet at the ''École Navale'' in 1849, ...
, attempted to secure parliamentary approval for another ''D'Entrecasteaux''-class cruiser, but the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon ...
refused, ending the project.
''D'Entrecasteaux'' represented an evolutionary step between the smaller armored cruiser and the larger armored cruisers that followed, beginning with . In addition, her design was used as the basis of the medium armored cruisers of the , which were also intended to serve overseas. ''D'Entrecasteaux'' nevertheless suffered from defects that curtailed her active career, most significantly design defects that hampered her
seakeeping
Seakeeping ability or seaworthiness is a measure of how well-suited a watercraft is to conditions when underway. A ship or boat which has good seakeeping ability is said to be very seaworthy and is able to operate effectively even in high sea stat ...
. The heavy main gun forward, coupled with the
ram bow
A ram was a weapon fitted to varied types of ships, dating back to antiquity. The weapon comprised an underwater prolongation of the bow of the ship to form an armoured beak, usually between 2 and 4 meters (6–12 ft) in length. This would be dri ...
, caused her to ship considerable amounts of water in heavy seas.
General characteristics and machinery
''D'Entrecasteaux'' was
long 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 stern ...
and
long overall
__NOTOC__
Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and ...
, with a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
* Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
** Laser beam
* Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized g ...
of and a
draft
Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a ves ...
of . She displaced . Her
hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
had a
flush deck
Flush deck is a term in naval architecture. It can refer to any deck of a ship which is continuous from stem to stern.
History
The flush deck design originated with rice ships built in Bengal Subah, Mughal India (modern Bangladesh), resulting in ...
and a pronounced ram bow, and was sheathed in
teak
Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...
and a
copper layer to protect it from
biofouling
Biofouling or biological fouling is the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals where it is not wanted on surfaces such as ship and submarine hulls, devices such as water inlets, pipework, grates, ponds, and rivers that ...
on long voyages overseas. As was typical for French warships of the period, she had a significant
tumblehome
Tumblehome is a term describing a hull which grows narrower above the waterline than its beam. The opposite of tumblehome is flare.
A small amount of tumblehome is normal in many naval architecture designs in order to allow any small projectio ...
shape.
The ship proved to be poorly ventilated and thus very hot in service, necessitating cooling equipment in her
ammunition magazines. ''D'Entrecasteaux'' was fitted with a pair of light pole
masts for observation and signalling purposes. Her
superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships.
Aboard ships and large boats
On water craft, the superstruct ...
was fairly minimal, consisting of a small
conning tower and
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 ...
structure forward and a smaller, secondary conning position aft. Because she was intended to serve as a flagship, she was outfitted with accommodations for an admiral and his staff. Her crew numbered 559 officers and enlisted men, and a flag staff added another 28 officers and men.
The ship's propulsion system consisted of a pair of 3-cylinder vertical
triple-expansion steam engine
A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages.
A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up h ...
s driving two
screw propeller
A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
s. The engines were placed side by side amidships, each in an individual
engine room
On a ship, the engine room (ER) is the compartment where the machinery for marine propulsion is located. To increase a vessel's safety and chances of surviving damage, the machinery necessary for the ship's operation may be segregated into va ...
. Steam was provided by five coal-burning, double-ended fire-tube boilers; four were placed further forward, ducting into two
funnels
A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening.
Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constr ...
, and the fifth boiler was further aft, with its own funnel. The forward set of boilers was divided into two
boiler rooms. The boilers proved to be troublesome in service, particularly in comparison to the water-tube boilers used in other French cruisers.
Her machinery was rated to produce normally and up to on
forced draft, for a top speed of . She reached a maximum speed of during
sea trials
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...
in 1899. Coal storage amounted to , which allowed ''D'Entrecasteaux'' to steam for at a speed of .
Armament

The ship was armed with a
main battery
A main battery is the primary weapon or group of weapons around which a warship is designed. As such, a main battery was historically a gun or group of guns, as in the broadsides of cannon on a ship of the line. Later, this came to be turreted ...
of two 40-
caliber (cal.) M1893 guns, which were placed in single-
gun turret
A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechani ...
s, one forward and one aft on the
centerline
Center line, centre line or centerline may refer to:
Sports
* Center line, marked in red on an ice hockey rink
* Centre line (football), a set of positions on an Australian rules football field
* Centerline, a line that separates the service cour ...
. These guns were the largest to be installed aboard a French cruiser of any type. The turrets were electrically operated, and allowed elevation of the guns to 20 degrees. Three types of shell were carried, including a
cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impu ...
projectile, along with
armor-piercing
Armour-piercing ammunition (AP) is a type of projectile designed to penetrate either body armour or vehicle armour.
From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armour-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armour carried on many wars ...
and semi-armor-piercing shells, both of which weighed . The shells had a
muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed of a projectile (bullet, pellet, slug, ball/ shots or shell) with respect to the muzzle at the moment it leaves the end of a gun's barrel (i.e. the muzzle). Firearm muzzle velocities range from approximatel ...
of , depending on the type.
These were supported by a
secondary battery
A rechargeable battery, storage battery, or secondary cell (formally a type of energy accumulator), is a type of electrical battery which can be charged, discharged into a load, and recharged many times, as opposed to a disposable or pri ...
of twelve
Model 1893 45-cal. guns, eight of which were carried in individual
casemate
A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" mean ...
s in the main deck. The other four were in
gun shield
A U.S. Marine manning an M240 machine gun equipped with a gun shield
A gun shield is a flat (or sometimes curved) piece of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, ri ...
-protected
pivot mount
A pivot gun was a type of cannon mounted on a fixed central emplacement which permitted it to be moved through a wide horizontal arc. They were a common weapon aboard ships and in land fortifications for several centuries but became obsolete aft ...
s on the upper deck. For close-range defense against
torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of s ...
s, she carried twelve
3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and six
1-pounder guns.
She was also armed with four
torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed abo ...
s, two in her hull below the
waterline
The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that ind ...
and the other two in trainable, deck-mounted launchers. The deck tubes were placed amidships, one on each
broadside
Broadside or broadsides may refer to:
Naval
* Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare
Printing and literature
* Broadside (comic s ...
, while the submerged tubes were just aft of the forward main battery gun and were in fixed positions. These were supplied with a total of twelve Model 1892
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. They carried a
warhead
A warhead is the forward section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, torpedo, or bomb.
Classification
Types of warheads include:
*Explos ...
and had a range of at a speed of . She had a storage capacity for twenty
naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ve ...
s, which was typical for cruisers intended to serve overseas. She had no minelaying apparatus, as the mines were only intended to be used to help defend a port, and they would have been laid by smaller boats.
Armor
Armor protection consisted of
nickel steel
Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow ...
armor. She had a curved armor deck; on the flat portion in the central part of the ship where it protected the machinery spaces, the deck was thick. It sloped downward at the sides and increased in thickness to . Toward the bow and stern, the deck was decreased slightly to on the flat and on the slopes. All of the deck armor was attached to a pair of underlying layers of thick
mild steel
Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states:
* no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, cobal ...
. A second deck consisting of another double layer of 10 mm steel was above the flat portion of the main deck with a
cofferdam
A cofferdam is an enclosure built within a body of water to allow the enclosed area to be pumped out. This pumping creates a dry working environment so that the work can be carried out safely. Cofferdams are commonly used for construction or re ...
connecting it to the main deck; this upper deck formed the roof of the secondary battery. The cofferdam was subdivided extensively to contain flooding in the event of damage.
''D'Entrecasteaux''s conning tower was heavily armored with of nickel steel on the sides, also backed by two layers of 10 mm mild steel. The tower's roof consisted of two layers of of steel. Her semi-elliptical main battery turrets received the same level of protection on the front, but thinned at the sides and rear to with the same mild steel backing. Their supporting
barbette
Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships.
In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protectio ...
s were above the battery deck and below. Each casemate consisted of plating with the double 10 mm backing.
Service history
French career
''D'Entrecasteaux'', named for Admiral
Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux
Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni, chevalier d'Entrecasteaux () (8 November 1737 – 21 July 1793) was a French naval officer, explorer and colonial governor. He is perhaps best known for his exploration of the Australian coast in 1792, while ...
, was built at the shipyard in
La Seyne-sur-Mer
La Seyne-sur-Mer (; "La Seyne on Sea"; oc, La Sanha), or simply La Seyne, is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2018, it had a population of 62,888. La Seyne-sur-Mer, which is ...
. She was ordered on 8 November 1893 and was
laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one ...
in June 1894, was
launched on 12 June 1896, and was
commissioned on 1 January 1898 to begin sea trials. During testing on 28 April, one of her boilers burst, scalding four stokers badly and delaying her completion by six months. The ship was completed in early 1899 and was placed in full commission on 15 February. She was immediately ordered to the Far East to join the (Naval Division of the Far East and Western Pacific) and serve as its flagship, where she replaced the old
ironclad
An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...
. After departing on 6 April, she reached
Saigon
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
in French Indochina on 12 May, where she joined the protected cruisers , , and .
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...
de Courejolles hoisted his flag aboard ''D'Entrecasteaux'' on 1 June and she thereafter embarked on a long voyage around East Asia, sailing as far north as
China.
She took part in the colonialist response to the
Boxer Uprising
The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, b ...
in China in 1900, joining in the
Battle of the Taku Forts in June as part of the
Eight-Nation Alliance
The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, then besieged by the popular Boxer militia, who were determined to remove f ...
. During the bombardment, she suffered problems with her main battery guns'
breech block
A breechblock (or breech block) is the part of the firearm action that closes the breech of a breech loading weapon (whether small arms or artillery) before or at the moment of firing. It seals the breech and contains the pressure generated by ...
s and locking mechanisms. These deficiencies compelled ''D'Entrecasteaux''s return to
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 the ...
for repairs; she arrived there on 9 January 1901. There, her main battery guns were removed and sent to the factory in
Ruelle to have new breech blocks installed; the work lasted until June. While ''D'Entrecasteaux'' was in Toulon, Rear Admiral
Charles-Jesse Bayle replaced de Courejolles as the divisional commander, and he brought with him Captain
Louis Dartige du Fournet
Louis René Charles Marie Dartige du Fournet (Putanges-Pont-Écrepin, 2 March 1856 – Périgueux, 16 February 1940) was a French vice admiral during World War I.
Family
The Dartige du Fournet family is a surviving family of the old French '' ...
as his
flag captain
In the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime en ...
. She then returned to East Asia, arriving in Saigon on 8 August. The ship spent the next two in the region, taking cruises in Chinese and Japanese waters in 1901 and 1902 before returning to Toulon in 1903, being decommissioned there on 12 February for a major overhaul that lasted through 1905.
After emerging from the shipyard, ''D'Entrecasteaux'' was recommissioned on 1 September 1905, and sailed on 25 November 1905 for French Indochina, by way of a brief assignment to the Indian Ocean command. She then moved to the Naval Division of the Far East and Western Pacific. On 15 August, she resumed flagship duties when Rear Admiral Boisse transferred from the protected cruiser . The unit also included the armored cruisers and , the protected cruiser , four
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-ste ...
s, and five
destroyers. ''D'Entrecasteaux'' served on the station for the next four years, and during this period, she was involved in the unsuccessful attempt to re-float the armored cruiser on 20 May 1907, which had
run aground
Ship grounding or ship stranding is the impact of a ship on seabed or
waterway side. It may be intentional, as in beaching to land crew or cargo, and careening, for maintenance or repair, or unintentional, as in a marine accident. In acciden ...
off the coast of China. ''D'Entrecasteaux'' departed Saigon on 25 October 1909 to return to Toulon.
The French Navy considered converting ''D'Entrecasteaux'' into a
training ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...
for
naval cadet
Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and Universit ...
s following her return home in 1909 to replace the armored cruiser , but the plan came to nothing. She instead was decommissioned on 1 January 1910, to undergo an extensive overhaul that included repairs to her propulsion system and her hull. Cooling systems for her secondary battery magazines were also installed, along with improved fire-control systems, a new Barr & Stroud
rangefinder
A rangefinder (also rangefinding telemeter, depending on the context) is a device used to measure distances to remote objects. Originally optical devices used in surveying, they soon found applications in other fields, such as photography an ...
, and a
wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimental technologies for ...
compartment. Her torpedo tubes were also removed, as she had never used them. The ship was recommissioned on 1 January 1912 to serve as the flagship of the Training Division of the Mediterranean Squadron, replacing the old battleship in that role, and flying the flag of Rear Admiral
Bertrand Sourrieu. ''D'Entrecasteaux'' was in turn replaced by the battleship on 15 November 1913, and she was decommissioned ten days later. In early 1914, the navy considered using ''D'Entrecasteaux'' to replace ''Pothuau'' as a gunnery training vessel, but the changes had not been made by the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
in August.
World War I
At the start of World War I in August 1914, ''D'Entrecasteaux'' was part of the , along with ''Pothuau'' and the old pre-dreadnought battleships and . Both of the cruisers required refits before they would be ready for active service, which were completed by the end of the month. On 5 November, France and Britain declared war on the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, and ''D'Entrecasteaux'' was sent to the coast of
Ottoman Syria
Ottoman Syria ( ar, سوريا العثمانية) refers to divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of Syria, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and so ...
, arriving there on 29 November to join the (Syrian Division) with the armored cruiser . The two cruisers were tasked with patrolling the length of coastline between
Jaffa to
Alexandretta.
''D'Entrecasteaux'' was sent to
Port Said
Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of ...
at the northern entrance to the
Suez Canal in January 1915 to reinforce the defenses there against an impending Ottoman attack. During this period, on 31 January, French naval forces in the region were reorganized as the 3
''e'' (3rd Squadron) and ''D'Entrecasteaux'' became the flagship of now-
Vice Admiral Dartige du Fournet. She and the old
coastal defense ship
Coastal defence ships (sometimes called coastal battleships or coast defence ships) were warships built for the purpose of coastal defence, mostly during the period from 1860 to 1920. They were small, often cruiser-sized warships that sacrifi ...
played a critical role in defeating the Ottoman infantry in their assault on 3 February. Their gunfire broke up the advancing Ottoman columns and ''Requin'' silenced the Ottoman heavy artillery battery. ''D'Entrecasteaux'' fired a total of five 240 mm shells and thirty-six 138 mm rounds at a range of in the course of the action. The next day, Dartige du Fournet transferred to the pre-dreadnought .
On 25 March, ''D'Entrecasteaux'' bombarded Ottoman positions in
Gaza
Gaza may refer to:
Places Palestine
* Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea
** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip
** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Lebanon
* Ghazzeh, a village in ...
. In late April, fears that the Ottoman Empire was planning an attack on the Suez Canal prompted the French to send ''D'Entrecasteaux'', the protected cruiser , and ''Jeanne d'Arc'' to Port Said to reinforce the warships supporting the land defenses of the canal. No attacks materialized, and the ships were sent to bombard Ottoman positions along the coast to force them to disperse their units rather than make attacks on the Suez Canal. Dartige du Fournet also established a set of three patrol zones to cover the Syrian coast on 6 May, and ''D'Entrecasteaux'' was assigned to the first sector, which covered the area between the Suez Canal and
Tyre
Tyre most often refers to:
* Tire, the outer part of a wheel
* Tyre, Lebanon, a Mediterranean city
Tyre or Tyres may also refer to:
Other places Lebanon
* Tyre District
* See of Tyre, a Christian diocese
*Tyre Hippodrome, a UNESCO World Heritag ...
. The French declared a
blockade
A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force.
A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which ar ...
of the coast on 25 June. The ship was detached for a refit in
Brest
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
** Brest Region
** Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
*Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
*Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
**Arrondissement of Brest
** Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Bre ...
late in the year. As additional forces arrived in the region, the French reorganized the squadron into two divisions, ''D'Entrecasteaux'' being assigned to the 2nd Division in November. She became the flagship of Rear Admiral
Henri de Spitz, though she did not arrive on the Syrian coast until 20 December.
Vice Admiral
Frederic Moreau
''Sentimental Education'' (French: ''L'Éducation sentimentale'', 1869) is a novel by Gustave Flaubert. Considered one of the most influential novels of the 19th century, it was praised by contemporaries such as George Sand and Émile Zola, but ...
, the squadron commander by early 1916, opposed continuing patrols of the Syrian coast, as Ottoman maritime traffic had essentially stopped and he could not justify the expenditure of coal. The sinking of ''Amiral Charner'' by a German
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
on 8 February strengthened his position, and further patrols were curtailed. ''D'Entrecasteaux'' was again detached in March for another refit. After its conclusion, the ship was assigned to the Moroccan Naval Division, but on 14 September, the protected cruiser arrived in Tangier to relieve her. ''D'Entrecasteaux'' was sent to
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...
with ''Pothuau'' in October in response to unrest in the country, but pressure from Britain, which feared that France was trying to assert influence in the country, led the French to withdraw the cruisers.
In late 1916, Ottoman forces had made significant progress toward defeating the Arabs who had rebelled against Ottoman rule at the instigation of the British. Vice Admiral
Rosslyn Wemyss
Admiral of the Fleet Rosslyn Erskine Wemyss, 1st Baron Wester Wemyss, (12 April 1864 – 24 May 1933), known as Sir Rosslyn Wemyss between 1916 and 1919, was a Royal Navy officer. During the First World War he served as commander of the 12th C ...
requested French assistance in the form of ''D'Entrecasteaux'' and ''Pothuau'', which the French Navy dispatched to the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
to provide fire support to the beleaguered Arab forces. The two cruisers operated out of
Port Suez
The Suez Port is an Egyptian port located at the southern boundary of the Suez Canal. It is bordered by the imaginary line extending from Ras-El-Adabieh to Moussa sources including the North Coast until the entrance of Suez Canal. Originally ''Por ...
; one was on station at either of the main Arab cities of
Jeddah and
Rabegh
Rabigh ( ar, رَابِغ, translit=Rābigh) is a city and governorate in the Province of Makkah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, situated on the Tihamah, coast of the Red Sea, around northwest of Mecca in the historic Hejazi region. The city had ...
while the other replenished coal at Port Suez. On 11 February 1917, the cruisers were released from these duties, as the Arabs had secured their position and the cruisers were needed elsewhere. They were then sent to the
Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Chan ...
to strengthen the vessels available for
convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be use ...
escort in the Indian Ocean. They were joined there by ''D'Estrées''. ''D'Entrecasteaux'' and ''D'Estrées'' escorted convoys from Madagascar to
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Re ...
through May. ''D'Entrecasteaux'' was sent home for another refit in July, her place in the area eventually being taken by the protected cruiser .
Postwar career and service in the Belgian and Polish navies

''D'Entrecasteaux'' was sent to
Durazzo and
Cattaro
Kotor ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrati ...
on 25 January 1919 as part of the fleet that monitored the transfer of ex-
Austro-Hungarian Navy
The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (german: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', hu, Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet) was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the A ...
ships to the victorious
Allied powers. On 5 September 1919, she was assigned to the training division based in Brest. She was later involved in the repatriation of elements of the (Army of the East) from
Macedonia
Macedonia most commonly refers to:
* North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia
* Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity
* Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...
. On 2 July 1920, the ship was placed in
reserve at Brest and was decommissioned on 1 June 1921. She was struck from the
naval register
A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...
on 27 October 1922 and transferred temporarily to the
Belgian Navy
The Belgian Navy, officially the Belgian Naval Component ( nl, Marinecomponent; french: Composante marine; german: Marinekomponente ) of the Belgian Armed Forces, is the naval service of Belgium.
History Early history
The Belgian Navy w ...
the following year, being towed to
Zeebrugge
Zeebrugge (, from: ''Brugge aan zee'' meaning "Bruges at Sea", french: Zeebruges) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zee ...
on 24 May 1923. She was used as a
depot ship
A depot ship is an auxiliary ship used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing and ...
for ex-German torpedo boats that had been abandoned in Belgium after the war, serving in that role until mid-1926, when the Belgians disbanded the torpedo boat flotilla. The Belgians had made significant reductions in their naval budget and had no further need for the cruiser. The ship was towed to
Cherbourg
Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 ...
on 4 February, where she remained until 7 March 1927, when the French sold her to the
Polish Navy.
In the early 1920s, the Polish Navy had explored the possibility of buying a cruiser from France to strengthen the nascent Polish fleet. The naval command initially wanted a vessel that could be used as a
submarine tender
A submarine tender is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines.
Development
Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and ...
to support their submarines, but the early plans fell through. After the Poles purchased ''D'Entrecasteaux'', she was renamed ''Król Władysław IV'' (Polish for: ''King
Władysław IV Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to:
Famous people Mononym
*W ...
'') and was then towed to
Gdynia
Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...
. The
Minister for Military Affairs
This is a list of Greek war and defence ministers.
Ministers of Military Affairs, 1899–1946
Ministers for Military Affairs, Naval Affairs & Aviation, 1946
Ministers of Military Affairs, 1946–1950
Ministers for Military Affairs, Naval ...
, Daniel Konarzewski, renamed her ''Bałtyk'' (Polish for
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and fr ...
) on 17 September 1927. By that time, the ship was armed with only six of her 47 mm guns; plans in the late 1920s to rearm her with a battery of eight
anti-aircraft guns to use her as a floating anti-aircraft battery came to nothing due to fears that she would be too vulnerable to air attack. The vessel was instead used as a stationary training ship in Gdynia beginning in early 1929. She became the headquarters for the naval specialists school on 1 April 1930, and during this period, she served as the flagship of
Commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain ...
Józef Unrug
Józef Unrug (; 7 October 1884 – 28 February 1973) was a Polish admiral who helped reestablish Poland's navy after World War I. During the opening stages of World War II, he served as the Polish Navy's commander-in-chief. As a German POW, he ...
.
During the
German invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
that began on 1 September 1939, ''Bałtyk'' was hit by a bomb on her
quarterdeck
The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on b ...
, which started a small fire. The Poles positioned the ship to block the entrance to the military port at Gdynia. Her crew remained aboard to help defend Gdynia from German
bomber
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...
s before abandoning her on 11 September as she was a large target in the harbor. Her crew thereafter served ashore and saw action at the
Battle of Kępa Oksywska
The Battle of Kępa Oksywska took place in the Oksywie Heights outside the Polish city of Gdynia between 10 and 19 September 1939. The battle, fought by the Polish Army and the German Wehrmacht, was part of the Polish September Campaign during ...
. German artillery bombarded the ship on 16–17 September, and on the 19th, German forces occupied the port and seized the ship. She was then used as a
barracks ship
A barracks ship or barracks barge or berthing barge, or in civilian use accommodation vessel or accommodation ship, is a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a superstructure of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for s ...
by the Germans. The ship was ultimately
broken up
Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction ...
for scrap by the Germans starting in 1941; the work was completed by August 1942.
Notes
References
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Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Entrecasteaux
Cruisers of the French Navy
Ships built in France
1896 ships
Training ships of Poland
Naval ships of Poland captured by Germany during World War II