French cruiser D'Entrecasteaux

Plan and profile drawing of D'Entrecasteaux

D'Entrecasteaux was 120 m (393 ft 8 in) long between perpendiculars and 120.92 m (396 ft 9 in) long overall, with a beam of 17.85 m (58 ft 7 in) and a draft of 7.52 m (24 ft 8 in). She displaced 7,995 long tons (8,123 t). Her hull had a flush deck and a pronounced ram bow, and was sheathed in teak and a copper layer to protect it from biofouling on long voyages overseas. As was typical for French warships of the period, she had a significant tumblehome shape.[8]

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 was fairly minimal, consisting of a small conning tower and bridge 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.[8][9]

The ship's propulsion system consisted of a pair of 3-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines driving two screw propellers. The engines were placed side by side amidships, each in an individual engine room. Steam was provided by five coal-burning, double-ended fire-tube boilers; four were placed further forward, ducting into two funnels, 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.[10]

Her machinery was rated to produce 8,500 metric horsepower (8,400 ihp) normally and up to 13,500 CV (13,300 ihp) on forced draft, for a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). She reached a maximum speed of 19.2 knots (35.6 km/h; 22.1 mph) during sea trials in 1899. Coal storage amounted to 960 long tons (980 t), which allowed D'Entrecasteaux to steam for 5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[11][12]

Model of D'Entrecasteaux

The ship was armed with a main battery of two 240 mm (9.4 in) 40-caliber (cal.) M1893 guns, which were placed in single-gun turrets, one forward and one aft on the centerline. 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 145 kg (320 lb) cast iron projectile, along with armor-piercing and semi-armor-piercing shells, both of which weighed 170 kg (370 lb). The shells had a muzzle velocity of 830 to 865 m/s (2,720 to 2,840 ft/s), depending on the type.[13][14]

These were supported by a secondary battery of twelve 138.6 mm (5.46 in) Model 1893 45-cal. guns, eight of which were carried in individual casemates in the main deck. The other four were in gun shield-protected pivot mounts on the upper deck. For close-range defense against torpedo boats, she carried twelve 47 mm (1.9 in) 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and six 37 mm (1.5 in) 1-pounder guns.[13]

She was also armed with four 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes, two in her hull below the waterline and the other two in trainable, deck-mounted launchers. The deck tubes were placed amidships, one on each broadside, 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 torpedoes. They carried a 75 kg (165 lb) warhead and had a range of 800 m (2,600 ft) at a speed of 27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph). She had a storage capacity for twenty naval mines, 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.[15][16]

Armor protection consisted of nickel steel 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 30 mm (1.2 in) thick. It sloped downward at the sides and increased in thickness to 80 mm (3.1 in). Toward the bow and stern, the deck was decreased slightly to 20 mm (0.79 in) on the flat and 60 mm (2.4 in) on the slopes. All of the deck armor was attached to a pair of underlying layers of 10 mm (0.39 in) thick mild steel. A second deck consisting of another double layer of 10 mm steel was above the flat portion of the main deck with a cofferdam 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.[9][17]

D'Entrecasteaux's conning tower was heavily armored with 230 mm (9.1 in) 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 25 mm (0.98 in) 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 190 mm (7.5 in) with the same mild steel backing. Their supporting barbettes were 170 mm (6.7 in) above the battery deck and 120 mm (4.7 in) below. Each casemate consisted of 52 mm (2 in) plating with the double 10 mm backing.[18]

D'Entrecasteaux underway during sea trials in 1898

D'Entrecasteaux, named for Admiral Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux,[19] was built at the Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée shipyard in La Seyne-sur-Mer. She was laid down in September 1894,[20] was launched on 13 June 1896,[21] and after completing fitting-out, began sea trials in 1898. During testing on 28 April, one of her boilers burst, scalding four stokers badly and delaying her completion by six months.[22] The ship was completed in early 1899.[20] She was commissioned on 15 February and was immediately deployed to the Far East to join the Division navale d'Extrême-Orient et du Pacifique occidental (Naval Division of the Far East and Western Pacific) and serve as its flagship. After departing on 6 April, she reached Saigon in French Indochina on 12 May, where she joined the protected cruisers Descartes, Pascal, and Jean Bart. Rear Admiral 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.[23]

She took part in the colonialist response to the Boxer Uprising in China in 1900, joining in the Battle of the Taku Forts in June as part of the Eight-Nation Alliance.[24] During the bombardment, she suffered problems with her main battery guns' breech blocks and locking mechanisms. These deficiencies compelled D'Entrecasteaux's return to Toulon 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 as his flag captain. 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 for a major overhaul that lasted through 1905.[23][25]

D'Entrecasteaux at some point before 1905

After emerging from the shipyard, D'Entrecasteaux 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 Guichen. The unit also included the armored cruisers Bruix and Dupetit-Thouars, the protected cruiser Alger, four gunboats, 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 Chanzy on 20 May 1907, which had run aground off the coast of China. D'Entrecasteaux departed Saigon on 25 October 1909 to return to Toulon.[23]

The French Navy considered converting D'Entrecasteaux into a training ship for naval cadets following her return home in 1909 to replace the armored cruiser Jeanne d'Arc, but the plan came to nothing. She instead underwent 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, and a wireless telegraphy 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, flying the flag of Rear Admiral Bertrand Sourrieu. 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 in August.[23]

At the start of World War I in August 1914, D'Entrecasteaux was part of the Division spéciale, along with Pothuau and the old pre-dreadnought battleships Jauréguiberry and Charlemagne. 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, and D'Entrecasteaux was sent to the coast of Ottoman Syria, arriving there on 29 November to join the Division de Syrie (Syrian Division) with the armored cruiser Amiral Charner. The two cruisers were tasked with patrolling the 600 km (370 mi) length of coastline between Jaffa to Alexandretta.[26]

D'Entrecasteaux was sent to Port Said 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 Escadre (3rd Squadron) and D'Entrecasteaux became the flagship of now-Vice Admiral Dartige du Fournet. She and the old coastal defense ship Requin 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 6,300 to 6,700 m (20,700 to 22,000 ft) in the course of the action. The next day, Dartige du Fournet transferred to the pre-dreadnought Saint Louis.[27]

On 25 March, D'Entrecasteaux bombarded Ottoman positions in Gaza.[28] 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 D'Estrées, and Jeanne d'Arc to Port Said to reinforce the warships supporting the land defenses of the canal.[29] 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. The French declared a blockade of the coast on 25 June. The ship was detached for a refit in Brest 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.[30]

Vice Admiral Frederic Moreau, 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 on 8 February strengthened his position, and further patrols were curtailed. D'Entrecasteaux was again detached in March for another refit.[31] After its conclusion, the ship was assigned to the Moroccan Naval Division, but on 14 September, the protected cruiser Lavoisier arrived in Tangier to relieve her.[32] D'Entrecasteaux was sent to Ethiopia 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.[31]

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 requested French assistance in the form of D'Entrecasteaux and Pothuau, which the French Navy dispatched to the Red Sea to provide fire support to the beleaguered Arab forces. The two cruisers operated out of Port Suez; one was on station at either of the main Arab cities of Jeddah and Rabegh 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 to strengthen the vessels available for convoy escort in the Indian Ocean. They were joined there by D'Estrées. D'Entrecasteaux and D'Estrées escorted convoys from Madagascar to Djibouti through May. D'Entrecasteaux was sent home for another refit in July, her place in the area eventually being taken by the protected cruiser Du Chayla.[33]

ORP Bałtyk in early 1930s

One of Bałtyk's anchors preserved as a memorial in Poland

D'Entrecasteaux was sent to Durazzo and Cattaro on 25 January 1919 as part of the fleet that monitored the transfer of ex-Austro-Hungarian Navy ships to the victorious Allied powers. She was later involved in the repatriation of elements of the Armée d'Orient (Army of the East) from Macedonia. On 2 July, the ship was placed in reserve at Brest and was decommissioned on 1 June 1921. She was struck from the naval register on 27 October 1922 and transferred temporarily to the Belgian Navy the following year, being towed to Zeebrugge on 24 May 1923. She was used as a depot ship for Belgian torpedo boats until early 1926, when the Belgians returned her due to significant reductions in their naval budget. The ship was towed to Cherbourg on 4 February, where she remained until 7 March 1927, when the French sold her to the Polish Navy.[34][35]

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 to support their submarines, but the early plans fell through.[36] After the Poles purchased D'Entrecasteaux, she was renamed Król Władysław IV (Polish for: King Władysław IV) and was then towed to Gdynia.[37][38] The Minister for Military Affairs, Daniel Konarzewski, renamed her Bałtyk (Polish for Baltic Sea) 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 75 mm (3 in) 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 Józef Unrug.[39]

During the German invasion of Poland that began on 1 September 1939, Bałtyk was hit by a bomb on her quarterdeck, which started a small fire. Her crew remained aboard to help defend Gdynia from German bombers 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. 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 by the Germans.[40] The ship was ultimately broken up for scrap by the Germans by around 1942.[37][38]