ligne of the 2e Escadre du ligne on 16 October 1910. Achille Adam hoisted his flag aboard the ship on 21 July 1911. When the s began entering service in that year, the fleet was reorganized again, with Charles Martel and the other older ships being transferred to the new 3e Escadre de ligne on 5 October, which was based in Brest, and Adam becoming commander of its 2e Division de ligne. The ship's hydraulic reloading machinery for the main and intermediate turrets was replaced by manual-loading gear in August 1911, which generally rendered her combat ineffective. She was present for another naval review off Toulon on 4 September. Adam hauled his flag down on 25 February 1912 and Charles Martel was reduced to reserve status on 1 March. She was reduced to special reserve on 1 July and was transferred to Landévennec, Brittany, in November 1913. Together with her contemporaries Brennus, Carnot and Masséna, Charles Martel was decommissioned and hulked to serve as a barracks ship on 1 April 1914. After the beginning of World War I in August, the ship hosted the headquarters controlling German prisoners of war temporarily housed in fortresses in Brittany in late September. Some of her boilers were removed during the war to equip three tugboats; her main guns were removed in 1915 and bored out to convert them to Obusier de Modèle 1915 railroad howitzers. The ship's 274 mm guns were converted into Canon de 274 Modèle 87/93 Glissement railroad guns two years later and her 138.6 mm guns were placed on wheeled gun carriages. Late in the war she was used as a prison ship. Charles Martel was condemned on 30 October 1919 and was listed for sale on 21 September 1920. She was purchased for 675,000 francs on 20 December by the Dutch firm of Franck Rijsdik Shipbreaking & Co. and towed to Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht to begin demolition. Footnotes References Ships built in France 1893 ships Battleships of the French Navy