page_title: French cruiser Lavoisier
section_title: 1903–1907
hierarchical_section_title: French cruiser Lavoisier / Service history / 1903–1907
context_page_description: Lavoisier was a protected cruiser of the French Navy built in the 1890s, the third and final member of the Linois class. Ordered as part of a large construction program aimed at countering the fleets of France's rivals, the Linois class was intended for use with France's fleets in home waters and in the French colonial empire. Lavoisier was armed with a main battery of four 138.6 mm guns, was protected by an armor deck that was 40 mm thick and she had a top speed of 20.5 knots.
  The ship spent the first few years of her career operating with the French Mediterranean Squadron, where she conducted training exercises. In 1903, she began a decade of service with the Newfoundland and Iceland Naval Division, where she typically patrolled the fishing grounds from April to September before returning to France, where she would be decommissioned for the winter. These deployments sometimes included visits to Norway, and some years, after returning to France in September, Lavoisier would be transferred to the Moroccan Naval Division until the next fishing season necessitated her return to the North Atlantic.
context_section_description: Lavoisier was ordered on 7 January 1903 to take the place of the protected cruiser Isly, which was then the flagship of the Newfoundland and Iceland Naval Division. At that time, the unit also included ironclad Formidable and the protected cruiser Tage. The ship was recommissioned on 16 March after a crew was assembled and she got underway on 5 May, bound for Saint Pierre and Miquelon. After arriving on 23 May, she began fishery protection duties, which were conducted in conjunction with British Royal Navy vessels in the area. Between June and September, she alternated between patrolling the fisheries and making calls in ports around Newfoundland. She departed on 22 September, the fishing season over, and arrived in Lorient a week later. She remained there until being laid up on 11 October; her crew was reduced to a caretaker contingent of 83 men.
  The ship was ordered to return to North American waters as the station flagship on 25 January 1904 and she was recommissioned on 29 March. At that time, the unit also included the protected cruiser Troude. Lavoisier departed Lorient on 7 May carrying a doctor for the French settlements on Saint Pierre and Miquelon. The ship stopped at Horta in the Portuguese Azores on the way and reached Saint Pierre on 24 May. After arriving, Lavoisier was visited by the commodore in command of the British counterpart division. In July, she made a stop at Cap-Rouge, Canada, after a confrontation between French and Canadian fishing vessels in the area. Lavoisier departed North American waters on 18 September, arrived back in Lorient on 2 October, and was decommissioned on 15 October.
  The year 1905 followed a similar pattern, and Lavoisier was recommissioned on 28 March for another tour with the Newfoundland and Iceland Division. She got underway on 19 April and proceeded first to Greenock, Britain, which she reached two days later. From there, she sailed to Reykjavik, Iceland, arriving on 3 May. She operated out of the port for the next three months, and during that period, her crew assisted in the construction of a hospital and a radio station in Reykjavik. Lavoisier departed on 2 August to return to Greenock three days later; from there, she steamed to Saint Pierre and Miquelon. The ship moved to Newfoundland on 16 September before returning to Lorient on 11 October, where she was again reduced to reserve status on 26 October.
  Lavoisier was recommissioned on 1 March 1906 for another stint in the North American fisheries. She departed on 3 April and stopped in Greenock two days later, sailed north to the Faroe Islands and ultimately arrived in Reykjavik on 18 April. The ship made a series of visits to various ports along the coast of Iceland from May to July. Lavoisier steamed to Leith, Britain, in July to pick up the French ambassador to Denmark on 29 July. She carried him to visit the Faroes and Iceland before returning him to Greenock on 13 August. From there, she got underway for Newfoundland by way of Horta, for another month of fisheries patrolling. She returned to Lorient on 2 October and was once again laid up for the winter. Lavoisier was recommissioned on 20 March 1907 for another tour off North America, departing Lorient on 8 May and reaching Reykjavik on 21 May. She operated in the station area until August, when she left for a visit to Scandinavia. She stopped in Leith on 24 August on the way and arrived in Bergen, Norway, on 1 September. She moved to Oslo on 16 September and she was visited by the Norwegian royal family there. She visited Copenhagen, Denmark, two days later, and then returned to Lorient to be decommissioned.
caption: Map of the north Atlantic; Saint Pierre and Miquelon is highlighted in red, the island of Newfoundland is directly to the north, and Iceland is center-right at the top
exif: {}