Desaix
Desaix was a 7,724 ton Dupleix class armoured cruiser completed in 1904, and stricken on 27 July 1921. Sale to Belgium was considered in 1921, however this did not proceed.
On 18 June 1923, Poland began negotiations with France for Desaix, an old vessel that by then had been disarmed. Poland wanted the cruiser for a stationary training vessel, and claimed no intention of rearming the ship, or of even making her seaworthy, and planned to permanently moor her in Gdynia.
The French Navy initially recommended permanently lending the vessel to the Poles, who would only have to pay the costs associated with putting her into a serviceable condition and moving her to Poland. At some point in the bureaucratic process, the navy’s intention to lend Desaix for an unlimited amount of time transformed into ceding the ship. In March 1924, the French Foreign Minister agreed to the cession of the vessel, as long as this did not violate the Washington accords. By early 1925, the Naval Ministry wanted the Poles to pay the value of the hull because France was now giving the ship to Poland, and not merely lending it, as had been done in the case of the loan of D’Entrecasteaux to Belgium (see Section B-7).
As the matter dragged on the French began to worry. Borel, the French Naval Minister, feared that appearing hard to please might generate discontent in France’s ally. While Admiral Charles Jolivet, head of the French naval mission to Poland, insisted that resolving the situation was important because of the potential of sales related to the impending Polish naval programme.
June 1925 saw inter-ministerial conferences to resolve the issue. Eventually, the ministers concluded that Parliament had to approve ceding the ship to Poland. The government had no desire to put the matter to the Chamber, and as a result, the French floated several other proposals.
Continued inquiries on the part of the Polish government failed to bring quick French action. As the matter dragged on, the Poles began to grow suspicious, as well as fearful that France might link cession of Desaix to Poland’s plans to purchase several submarines and minesweepers from foreign builders.
The deal was finalised on 14 July 1926. The Poles agreed to pay 1,200,000 francs for the hull, and an additional 2,420,000 francs to refit Desaix and tow the ship to Gdynia. The money for the purchase price came from French credits granted to Poland.
On 15 July 1926, the Berliner Börsenseitung reported the proposal in the Polish Cabinet to purchase Desaix for the price of 1.2 million francs in the long-term French armament loan to Poland. On 23 August 1926 Le Dĕpĕche Coloniale reported that Desaix had been purchased for the Polish Navy, and was being reconditioned and undergoing important alterations in the Toulon dockyard.
The British Foreign Office was initially unsure about what course of action to take on the matter. They not only feared being the first to raise objections to the sale, but also being the only protester. They also wanted to defer any decision to take action while they considered a request by the Chilean government to purchase British destroyers (see Section B-5).
The Foreign Office enquired at exactly what date Desaix ceased to form part of the French Navy, as if it was after the WNT, then Article XVIII of the Treaty would apply, and France would be obliged to ensure that Desaix was not disposed of in such a manner that she might become a war-vessel in another powers navy. The Admiralty advised that Desaix had ceased being part of the French seagoing fleet in 1921 or 1922, but was still shown in the French official ‘Lists de la Flotte’ as awaiting sale as recently as 1 April 1926.
On 4 November the British Government passed this information in an Aide Memoire to the US Government so that they, as the conveners of the WNC, could make appropriate enquiries of the French Government. The US State Department queried the French, who replied that negotiations on the matter were still ‘ongoing’ and that no definite decision had yet been reached—comments the Americans relayed to London.
The British Naval Attaché in Paris reported in December 1926 that the US Naval Attaché in Paris had been ordered by his Government to approach the French Ministry of Marine with regard to Desaix, and the British Naval Attaché advised on 10 December 1926 that the US Naval Attaché had been advised by the Head of the Intelligence Bureau of the French Ministry of Marine that the transfer of Desaix to Poland had been contemplated, but had now been abandoned.
After waiting some three years for the French to decide the fate of Desaix Poland had asked if France would give them D’Entrecasteaux instead (see Section B-7).