The Jurien de la Gravière was the last protected cruiser

Protected cruiser

The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...

 built for the French Navy

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

, named in honour of Edmond Jurien de la Gravière

Edmond Jurien de la Gravière

Jean Pierre Edmond Jurien de La Gravière was a French admiral, son of Admiral Pierre Roch Jurien de La Gravière, who served through the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars and was a peer of France under Louis-Philippe.He entered the navy in 1828, was made a commander in 1841, and captain in 1850...

 and his father, Pierre Roch Jurien de La Gravière

Pierre Roch Jurien de La Gravière

Pierre Roch Jurien de La Gravière was a French naval officer.- Biography :Born at Gannat in Allier, La Gravière entered the service under the name Jurien Desvarennes as a novice pilot on the corvette La Favorite in May 1786.Volunteer aspirant on the frigate La Flore 29 November 1787, aspirant, 1st...

.

She served in the Mediterranean during the First World War, patrolling the Strait of Otranto

Strait of Otranto

The Strait of Otranto connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and separates Italy from Albania. Its width at Punta Palascìa, east of Salento is less than . The strait is named after the Italian city of Otranto.- History :...

, repressing insurrections in Crete

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

, and bombarding Turkey. She took part in the blockade of Greece after the Noemvriana

Noemvriana

The Noemvriana of November–December 1916 was a political dispute, which led to an armed confrontation in Athens between the royalist government of Greece and the Allies forces over the issue of Greece's neutrality during World War I....

events.

In 1920, she occupied the station of Syria, before being replaced by .

She was eventually sold for scrap in 1922.

Sources and references

• Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours, Tome II, 1870–2006, LV Jean-Michel Roche, Imp. Rezotel-Maury Millau, 2005