"Fearless", "Escapade", "Faulknor", and "Foxhound" of the 8th DF escorted "Ark Royal" and the battlecruiser to Gibraltar in late June, where they formed Force H. Eight days later, they participated in the attack on Mers-el-Kébir against the Vichy French ships stationed there, together with "Forester", "Foresight" and "Escort". The latter ship was sunk by an Italian submarine on 11 July while covering a Malta convoy. Most of Force H returned to the UK for a brief refit in early August, but upon their return at the end of the month, the 8th DF now consisted of "Faulknor", "Forester", "Foresight", "Firedrake", "Fortune", "Fury", and . On the night of 31 August/1 September, "Esk", "Express" and three other minelaying destroyers laid a minefield off the Dutch island of Texel. While doing so, the latter ship struck a mine that blew her bow off. While closing to render aid, "Esk" struck two mines that broke her in half with heavy casualties. "Express" was towed back to England for repairs that lasted until October 1941. On 13 September, Force H met a convoy that was carrying troops intended to capture Dakar from the Vichy French that was escorted by , "Eclipse", "Echo", "Encounter", and "Escapade". Ten days later they attacked Dakar where "Foresight" and "Inglefield" sank the , "Fortune" sank the submarine a day later and "Foresight" sank the submarine on the 25th. After the battle, "Escapade" and "Echo" returned to the Home Fleet and resumed their regular duties of fleet escort. On 17 October, "Fame" ran aground and could not be refloated for several months. The following day, "Firedrake" together with the destroyer and two Royal Air Force flying boats sank the . "Fury", "Encounter", "Faulknor", "Firedrake", and "Forester" participated in the inconclusive Battle of Cape Spartivento on 27 November.