The Montcalm was an armoured cruiser of 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...

.

Before even completing her trials, she ferried the President of the Republic, Émile Loubet

Émile Loubet

Émile François Loubet was a French politician and the 8th President of France.-Early life:He was born the son of a peasant proprietor and mayor of Marsanne . Admitted to the Parisian bar in 1862, he took his doctorate in law the next year...

, to Russia. The ship reached Kronstadt

Kronstadt

Kronstadt , also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt |crown]]" and Stadt for "city"); is a municipal town in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg proper near the head of the Gulf of Finland. Population: It is also...

 on 20 May 1902.

Built in la Seyne from 27 September 1898, she was launched on the 27 March 1900 and was commissioned on the 24 March 1902, before completing her trials, to ferry the President of the Republic, Émile Loubet

Émile Loubet

Émile François Loubet was a French politician and the 8th President of France.-Early life:He was born the son of a peasant proprietor and mayor of Marsanne . Admitted to the Parisian bar in 1862, he took his doctorate in law the next year...

, to Russia. She arrived in Cronstadt on the 20 May 1902, receiving Tsar Nicholas II for lunch aboard on the 23rd.

She later cruised in the Chinese Sea, notably ferrying Marshal Joseph Joffre

Joseph Joffre

Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre OM was a French general during World War I. He is most known for regrouping the retreating allied armies to defeat the Germans at the strategically decisive First Battle of the Marne in 1914. His popularity led to his nickname Papa Joffre.-Biography:Joffre was born in...

 in November 1921.

She was decommissioned on the 28 October 1926 and used as a school ship

School ship

A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is especially used for ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classrooms....

hulk, as Tremintin, in 1934. She was still docked in Brest in 1940 and was destroyed during the Occupation in 1943.