The ''L'Adroit''-class destroyer was a group of fourteen
French Navy
The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
s (''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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
''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 medium 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 a ...
bomber on 21 May 1940 near
Dunkirk
Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...
, 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 ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
squadron, which were disarmed by the British on 22 June 1940 following French capitulation. They were rearmed under
Free French
Free France () was a resistance government
claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...
auspices in December 1943.
''Boulonnais'', ''Brestois'', ''Fougueux'' and ''Frondeur'' were all sunk by Allied ships off
Casablanca
Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
, as part of
Operation Torch
Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...
. ''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
In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...
: 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
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External links
''L'Adroit'' class at uboat.net*
{{WWII French ships
Destroyer classes
Ship classes of the French Navy