page_title: French destroyer Épée (1938)
section_title: Construction and career
hierarchical_section_title: French destroyer Épée (1938) / Construction and career
caption_attribution_description: English: The French destroyer L'Adroit after being scuttled, behind her is the destroyer Volta
context_page_description: The French destroyer Épée was one of a dozen Le Hardi-class destroyers built for the French Navy during the late 1930s. The ship was completed during the Battle of France in mid-1940 and her first mission was to help escort an incomplete battleship to French Morocco only days before the French signed an armistice with the Germans. After the British attack on Dakar in September, she was one of four destroyers ordered to attack British shipping, although there was only an inconclusive duel with a British destroyer. Épée helped to escort one of the battleships damaged by the British during their July Attack on Mers-el-Kébir, French Algeria, back to France in November. She was transferred back to French Morocco in May 1941 for convoy-escort duties that lasted until October.
  When the Germans occupied Vichy France after the Allies landed in French North Africa in November 1942 and tried to seize the French fleet, Épée was one of the ships scuttled to prevent their capture. She was salvaged by the Regia Marina in 1943, but was sunk again by Allied bombers. The ship was refloated in 1945 and subsequently scrapped.
context_section_description: Ordered on 31 December 1935, Épée was laid down by Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde at their shipyard in Bordeaux on 15 October 1936. She was launched on 26 October 1938 and entered service on 14 June 1940. Five days later the ship, together with her sister ships Le Hardi and Mameluk, helped to escort the incomplete battleship Jean Bart from Saint-Nazaire to Casablanca, French Morocco, where they arrived three days later. On 28 July, Épée and Le Hardi sailed for Dakar, French West Africa and the former arrived back at Casablanca on 10 September. After the British attack on Dakar in September, Épée and her sister Fleuret, together with the destroyers Fougueux and Frondeur were ordered to attack British shipping in the Strait of Gibraltar in retaliation. They encountered only an unidentified British destroyer and all of Épée's guns malfunctioned after firing a total of only 14 rounds. The ships continued onward to Oran, French Algeria, and Épée returned to Casablanca on 30 September. 
  The following months saw five of the Le Hardi-class ships ordered to Oran to escort the battleship Provence, which had been damaged during the July British attack on Mers-el-Kébir, Algeria, to Toulon; Épée arrived there on 5 November. Departing the following day, they arrived at Toulon two days later at which time the ship was reduced to reserve. On 29 March 1941, Épée was renamed L'Adroit to commemorate the destroyer of that name that had been sunk during the Battle of France in 1940. The ship was transferred to Morocco on 8 May for convoy-escort duties and returned to Toulon on 4 October. On 1 November the 10th DT (division de torpilleurs), consisting of L'Adroit, Le Hardi and Mameluk, was assigned to the Forces de haute mer. When the Nazi Germans attempted to capture the French ships intact in Toulon on 27 November 1942, L'Adroit was scuttled by her crew. The Italians raised her on 20 April 1943 and redesignated her as FR33, but the ship was badly damaged during Allied bombing raids on 24 November 1943 and 4 February 1944; she was refloated in September 1945 and broken up.
caption: L'Adroit in the foreground and the large destroyer Volta behind her after being scuttled in Toulon on 27 November 1942
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