page_title: French cruiser Lalande
section_title: Service history
hierarchical_section_title: French cruiser Lalande / Service history
context_page_description: Lalande was a protected cruiser of the Troude class built for the French Navy in the late 1880s and early 1890s. The class was built as part of a construction program intended to provide scouts for the main battle fleet. They were based on the preceding Forbin class, the primary improvement being the addition of armor to the conning tower. Lalande was built in the 1880s and was completed in late 1890. She was armed with a main battery of four 138 mm guns, protected with an armor deck that was 41 mm thick, and had a top speed of 20.5 knots.
  Lalande served with the Mediterranean Squadron for the first several years of her career, before being reduced to the Reserve Squadron in 1896 and again to the 2nd category of reserve. She temporarily returned to the Mediterranean Squadron in 1898 before once again being placed in reserve later that year, where she remained through 1905. The following year, she joined the Northern Squadron before transferring back to the Mediterranean for 1907 and 1908. She saw little use thereafter and was struck from the naval register in 1912, subsequently being sold to ship breakers for scrap.
context_section_description: The keel for Lalande was laid down at the Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde shipyard in Lormont in 1887. She was launched on 21 March 1889 and she was completed in October 1890. She conducted her sea trials that year. In 1892, Lalande was assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron, where she served as part of the reconnaissance force for the main French battle fleet, along with the cruisers Sfax, Amiral Cécille, and Tage. The ship participated in that year's fleet maneuvers, which began on 23 June and concluded on 11 July. 
  In 1893, Lalande remained with the Mediterranean Squadron. At that time, the unit also included several modern ironclad warships, the armored cruiser Dupuy de Lome, and the protected cruisers Amiral Cécille, Cosmao, Troude, and Jean Bart. Lalande took part in the fleet maneuvers in 1894; from 9 to 16 July, the ships involved took on supplies in Toulon for the maneuvers that began later on the 16th. A series of exercises included shooting practice, a blockade simulation, and scouting operations in the western Mediterranean. The maneuvers concluded on 3 August.
  She was still serving in the unit in 1895, by which time the fleet's cruiser division consisted of Lalande, her sister ships Troude and Cosmao, Tage, and Suchet. She remained in the Reserve Squadron in 1896. That year, she was reduced to the 2nd category of reserve, along with several old coastal defense ships, ironclads, and other cruisers. They were retained in a state that allowed them to be mobilized in the event of a major war. Lalande was activated to join the Reserve Squadron's cruiser division for the annual 1896 maneuvers, along with Sfax, Amiral Cécille, and the cruisers Milan and Léger. The maneuvers for that year took place from 6 to 30 July and the Reserve Squadron served as the simulated enemy.
  Lalande was reactivated in 1898 and assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron. The unit at that time consisted of four pre-dreadnought battleships, four ironclads, two armored cruisers, and three other protected cruisers, among other smaller vessels. She took part in the maneuvers that year, which lasted from 5 to 25 July. The ship was placed in the 2nd category of reserve in Toulon later that year. Lalande and her sister ships had been deactivated and placed in the reserve fleet by January 1901. She was reactivated in 1906 and assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron. She took part in the fleet maneuvers that year, which began on 6 July with the concentration of the Northern and Mediterranean Squadrons in Algiers. The maneuvers were conducted in the western Mediterranean, alternating between ports in French North Africa and Toulon and Marseilles, France, and concluding on 4 August. She was present for a naval review in Marseille on 16 September with elements of the Mediterranean Squadron. She remained in service with the Mediterranean Squadron in 1907, and in 1908. The ship was struck from the naval register in 1912, and she was subsequently broken up for scrap.
caption: Map of the western Mediterranean, where Lalande operated for much of her career
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