In the Armée navale
After finishing leave in Paris, Brucelle returned to Toulon in April
1914. As a qualified torpedo specialist, he was assigned to the
minelaying destroyer Casabianca . The older warship had been
commissioned in 1895 and belonged to a class of three small cruisers
reclassified as contre-torpilleur d’escadre .11Contre-amiralLepotier, Les Derniers Torpilleurs (Paris: Éditions
France-Empire, 1969), 55. Out of active service after 1904, theCasabianca was converted into a minelayer in 1911.Capitaine de frégate Marie Charles Joseph de Lafournière
commanded the Casabianca and the 1st naval
army’s group of minelayers, which included the sister shipCassina .22Bulletin de la marine (1914), 799.
Jean Labayle Couhat,French Warships of World War I (London: Ian Allan, 1974),
192-193. The Casabianca was configured to carry 97Harlé defensive mines, 120 Harlé blockade mines, or 140
Model 1906 mines on half meter gauge deck rails.33Roberts,French Warships in the Age of Steam , 274-275. The minelaying
destroyer also had three launch tubes capable of firing the Model 1904
Whitehead and Model 1909R (1,000 meters and 2,000 meters) torpedoes
(Table 2). Though some sources claim removal of those tubes, the
presence of specialists like Brucelle indicates that torpedoes were
still an important secondary armament to the Casabianca ’s main
role of laying mines. In a letter congratulating Louise on her
23rd birthday and progress in the sport of cycling,
Brucelle commented on the new surroundings and agreeable duty:
My health is good for the moment and I am pleased to be on a destroyer,
for food, for some work on the torpedoes, in fact the Swedish school of
the soldier, and every afternoon, problems dictated just like in class.
It is not disagreeable if you want but it’s only this ship which only
sails every 3 months. Finally, for the question of us staying in Toulon,
I am delighted, but as a warship it is nothing. Extraordinarily, we
sailors have 100 underwater mines to take care of and we don’t mine 6 so
we wouldn’t dare do any other duty than in a squadron, each at his
determined work. Finally, I assume my part in the meantime and take
hoses on the right side.44Letter, 9 May 1914.
Life on a destroyer was less regimented than larger cruisers and
battleships, and relations closer due to more confined spaces. Brucelle
performed many duties as a sailor outside his rated specialty. TheCasabianca ’s age and specialized function meant longer periods of
time spent in port, which was alright with many sailors because
opportunities for shore visits and mail increased. Brucelle’s longing
for new sights and locations was soon fulfilled by trips to other parts
of the western Mediterranean under French control.
Table 2. Principal models of 450 mm torpedo deployed in theMarine nationale 1914