Derna, Libya
After entering service, both ships were assigned to the main fleet, where they remained for the first several years of their careers. In 1904, "Coatit" was assigned to Italian Eritrea in the Red Sea, before returning to fleet service in the Mediterranean. Both ships saw action in the Italo-Turkish War in 1911–1912. They joined the escort for the troop convoy for an amphibious assault on Derna, Libya in late October 1911. They thereafter provided gunfire support to Italian troops ashore, with "Agordat" being transferred to Benghazi. In October 1912 "Coatit" shelled retreating Ottoman troops in Anatolia, which the commander of the French cruiser witnessed and protested as a violation of international law. Shortly thereafter, the Ottoman government agreed to surrender; signing the Treaty of Ouchy on 18 October.