The ''L'Adroit''-class destroyer was a group of fourteen
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 ...
destroyers (''torpilleur'') laid down in 1925–26 and commissioned from 1928 to 1931. They were the successors to the , with the same armament, but being slightly heavier overall.
Service history
The class saw varied service in the
Second World War
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 opposi ...
.
''La Railleuse'' was the first French destroyer casualty of the war, being blown up in Casablanca harbour by an accidental torpedo explosion on 23 March 1940. ''L'Adroit'' was sunk by a bomb from a German
He 111
The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...
bomber on 21 May 1940 near
Dunkirk, but her entire crew were able to escape and served in
shore batteries
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to facil ...
until the French capitulation. ''Foudroyant'' was sunk in similar circumstances, but with more loss of life, on 1 June 1940.
''Basque'', ''Forbin'' and ''Le Fortuné'' were part of the French
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
squadron, which were disarmed by the British on 22 June 1940 following French capitulation. They were rearmed under
Free French
Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...
auspices in December 1943.
''Boulonnais'', ''Brestois'', ''Fougueux'' and ''Frondeur'' were all sunk by Allied ships off
Casablanca, as part of
Operation Torch. ''L'Alcyon'' survived the attack and later joined the Allies.
''Bordelais'', ''La Palme'' and ''Le Mars'' joined many other French warships in
scuttling at Toulon to stop their being taken over by the German navy.
Ships
* (
Pennant number: T2, 11, 21, 42, 41, 23, T23)
* (Pennant number: 55, 11, 57, 97, 43, 42, 23, 91, 92, T92, T91, T33)
* (Pennant number: 117, 112, 22, 81, T81, T11)
* (Pennant number: 11, 99, 73, 33, 53, T53, T52)
* (Pennant number: 12, 97, 14, 31, 51, T51)
* (Pennant number: 98, 15, 12, 3, 92, 91, T91, T92, T32)
* (Pennant number: 119, 115, 23, 22, T22)
* (Pennant number: 116, 112, 71, 83, T83, T23, T63)
* (Pennant number: 74, 11, 1, T11, T13)
* (Pennant number: 73, 12, 5, 2, T32)
* (Pennant number: 72, 75, 32, 4, 1, T31)
* (Pennant number: 71, 72, 14, 2, T12)
* (Pennant number: 99, 96, 44, 43, 52, T52)
* (Pennant number: 118, 114, 21, T21)
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
''L'Adroit'' class at uboat.net*
{{WWII French ships
World War II destroyers of France
Destroyer classes
Ship classes of the French Navy