 Vérité 's first major assignment was received in late July 1908 , a month after she joined the French fleet . She carried the President of France Armand Fallières to Reval , Russia , arriving on 27 July . There , Fallières visited with the Russian Tsar , Nicholas II , who inspected Vérité . She joined Liberté and Justice for a visit to the United States for the Hudson @-@ Fulton Celebration in September 1909 . The three ships , representing France during the celebrations and commanded by Admiral Jules le Pord , were the first foreign ships to arrive . The ships departed from Brest and reached New York seven days later , having run at an average of 16 knots ( 30 km / h ; 18 mph ) ; the performance of the ships ' propulsion systems was regarded as satisfactory by contemporary naval experts , including the United States Naval Institute . In early 1911 , the French Navy conducted experiments with wireless telegraphy , and used Vérité and Justice for the tests . The wireless transmitters could pick up messages as far as 72 miles ( 116 km ) away . On 25 September 1911 , Liberté was destroyed by an accidental explosion in Toulon , the result of the spontaneous combustion of nitrocellulose gel in her ammunition magazines . Debris hurled by the explosion damaged several nearby battleships , including Vérité . 
