The ''Guépard''-class

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s (''contre-torpilleurs'') were six ships of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

, laid down in 1927 and commissioned in 1930. They were similar to the previous ''Chacal'' class, with a larger hull and with a slightly improved speed and gun armament with 138 mm guns of a new design. The first three ships bore 'animal' names like the ''Chacal''s, while the remaining three were given names starting with V, for two battles and a field-marshal. The class saw action in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Ships

* :Built by Arsenal de Lorient. :Completed 10 October 1930. :She was sunk by German

Junkers Ju 87 The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from ''Sturzkampfflugzeug'', "dive bomber") was a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Con ...

''Stuka''s while taking part in the evacuation of Namsos, on 3 May 1940, off

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. Out of 229 members on the crew, 136 were lost. Survivors from ''Bison'' were picked up by , which was then also sunk by the ''Stuka''s. * (" Cheetah") :Built by Arsenal de Lorient. :Completed 13 August 1929, :Scuttled 27 November 1942. :Refloated 4 September 1943. :Bombed and sunk March 1944. :Refloated 1947 and broken up. * :Built by

Ateliers et Chantiers de France The Ateliers et Chantiers de France (ACF, Workshops and Shipyards of France) was a major shipyard that was established in Dunkirk, France, in 1898. The shipyard boomed in the period before World War I (1914–18), but struggled in the inter-war p ...

, Dunkirk. :Completed 21 January 1931. :Seized by Germans 27 November 1942. :Given to Italy and entered service as ''FR 21''. :Scuttled La Spezia 9 September 1943. * (named after the

battle of Valmy The Battle of Valmy, also known as the Cannonade of Valmy, was the first major victory by the army of France during the Revolutionary Wars that followed the French Revolution. The battle took place on 20 September 1792 as Prussian troops comm ...

) :Built by Ateliers et Chantiers de St Nazaire-Penhoët, St. Nazaire :Completed 1 January 1930. :Seized by Germans 27 November 1942. :Refloated 15 March 1943 and began refit as Italian Navy ''FR 24'' :Captured by Germans at Savona September 1943 :Wreck found at Genoa 1945 and broken up. * (named after the battle of Verdun) :Built by Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, St Nazaire. :Completed 1 April 1930. :Scuttled 27 November 1942. :Refloated 29 September 1943. :Bombed and sunk 1944 :Refloated 1948 and broken up in Italy. * (named after Marshal

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, Seigneur de Vauban, later Marquis de Vauban (baptised 15 May 163330 March 1707), commonly referred to as ''Vauban'' (), was a French military engineer who worked under Louis XIV. He is generally considered the ...

) :Built by

, Dunkirk. :Completed 9 January 1931. :Scuttled 27 November 1942. :Refloated 12 May 1947 and broken up.

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guepard-class destroyer Destroyer classes World War II destroyers of France Ship classes of the French Navy