french cruiser class armored cruiser built french_navy 1890s completion served assigned island crete protect french interests citizens ship reserve years middle decade 20th century transferred french ran aground chinese coast proved impossible destroyed place crew rescued loss design description class ships designed smaller cheaper preceding armored cruiser design like older ship intended fill commerce raiding strategy measured meters perpendiculars beam meters ship forward draft meters drew meters aft displaced metric tons long tons normal load metric tons long tons deep load class triple expansion steam engines driving single propeller shaft steam engines provided belleville boilers rated total metric horsepower forced draft designed speed knots mph carried metric tons long tons short tons coal allowed steam nautical miles speed knots mph ships class main armament consisted canon modèle guns mounted single gun turrets fore aft superstructure secondary armament comprised canon modèle guns single gun turrets broadside anti torpedo boat defense carried millimeter guns millimeter millimeter revolving hotchkiss guns armed millimeter torpedo tubes mounted broadside water class generally protected millimeters steel armor meters waterline meters centimeters tapered thickness armor ends ships millimeters curved protective deck mild steel thickness millimeters centerline increased millimeters outer edges protecting boiler rooms engine rooms magazines thin splinter deck watertight internal filled ran length ship protective deck height meters waterline protective deck ship divided watertight transverse bulkheads ship conning tower turrets protected millimeters armor construction career named general ordered december laid following month shipyard launched january initially commissioned sea trials february began days later revealed problems engines boilers decommissioned repairs december recommissioned test repairs entered service july ship initially assigned 1st light division transferred participated annual fleet maneuvers summer placed reserve repairs toulon august ship began trials december sent crete february french contingent deployed turkish war protect western interests citizens remained squadron february arriving france assigned reserve squadron little rest year participate annual naval maneuvers january ship reassigned 1st notable activities year visits ports middle_east main steam pipe fractured february injured crewmen repaired time participate annual maneuvers spent weeks september attached elderly gunnery ship making cruise french north_africa ship began brief deployment levant february returned april annual maneuvers returning levant october arrived toulon february began long period relative inactivity lasted formally placed reserve new armored cruiser replaced squadron recommissioned september service departed november arrived french january visited hong_kong ports china japan april departing shanghai thick fog ran aground rocks sister ship protected cruisers attempted pull heavy seas crew remained aboard attempting evacuated loss june ship began founder wreck demolished cruisers june
French cruiser Chanzy