[1] Pistolet (Pistol) was ordered from Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire on 22 May 1901 and the ship was laid down in September at its shipyard in Nantes.

She was shortly thereafter transferred to the Far East Squadron (escadre de l'Extrême-Orient) based in French Indochina, arriving there in April 1904.

[6] At the start of World War I in August 1914, the division included Pistolet, along with the armored cruisers Montcalm and Dupleix, D'Iberville, and the destroyers Mousquet, and Fronde.

The destroyers and D'Iberville were initially sent to patrol the Strait of Malacca while the armored cruisers were sent north to join the search for the German East Asia Squadron.

[8] Pistolet was present in the harbor at George Town, Penang, on 27 October, moored alongside her sister Fronde.

In the early hours of 28 October, the German light cruiser SMS Emden entered the harbor to attack the Entente vessels there.

Unlike the other French warships, Pistolet could not open fire on the raider, as she was moored inboard of Fronde and could not bring her guns to bear.

[11] The war having ended in November 1918, Pistolet was struck from the naval register on 30 October 1919 and eventually sold to ship breakers in Toulon on 6 May 1920.