The French destroyer ''Aigle'' was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of her class of destroyers (''contre-torpilleurs'') built for 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 ...

during the 1920s.

Service

During World War II, ''Aigle'' was engaged in operations to transport gold bars several times. In November 1939, she escorted Force 'Z' ships (the battleship ''

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

'' and two cruisers of the '' La Galissonnière'' class) until they reached the Atlantic. In March–April 1940, ''Aigle'' provided cover and later escorted the ships of Force 'X' back. Besides that, ''Aigle'' was regularly deployed to escort convoys with troops, heading from the North African ports to

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

. The last combat operation in which the large destroyer participated was a raid on Genoa on the night of 13/14 June 1940, as part of Operation Vado, where she had to fend off the attacks of Italian torpedo boats. After

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

surrendered to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in June 1940 during

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 opposing ...

, ''Aigle'' served with the navy of

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its te ...

. She was among the ships of the French fleet scuttled at

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

, France, on 27 November 1942. Later refloated, she was sunk a second time at Toulon by

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

bombers on 24 November 1943. Her wreck later was again salvaged and scrapped.

Notes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aigle World War II warships scuttled at Toulon Aigle-class destroyers 1931 ships Ships built in France Maritime incidents in November 1942 Maritime incidents in November 1943