French destroyer Léopard Léopard was a of the French Navy , commissioned in 1927 . As one of the larger destroyers of her time , she was designed to escort convoys , large naval units , or serve as a light cruiser in remote sectors of the French Empire . She served during the Second World War , notably taking part in the Dunkirk evacuation , in convoy escorts from Great Britain , and was instrumental in the liberation of La Réunion . She was lost in 1943 near Tobruk . Career . " Léopard " was laid down on 14 August 1923 at the " Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire " shipyard at Saint - Nazaire , launched on 29 September 1924 , and commissioned on 15 November 1927 . Early stages of the war . In May 1940 , " Léopard " , under " Capitaine de frégate " Loisel , constituted the 2nd Large Destroyer Division , along with " Épervier " , " Fougueux " and " Frondeur " . They served in a flotilla led by " Capitaine de vaisseau " Urvoy de Portzamparc , who flew his flag on " Cyclone " , and which also comprised the " Chacal " , " Bourrasque " , " Orage " , " Mistral " and " Sirocco " . On 28 May , a special flotilla was constituted under the command of Admiral Marcel Landriau , with his flag on " Savorgnan de Brazza " , comprising these ships and a number of smaller units . On 31 May , " Léopard " supported operations of the Dunkirk evacuation and sustained damage from German bombing . She came under attack from German planes again on 2 June at 10 : 35 , along with " Épervier " . On 5 June , she was still supporting the ground forces of Dunkirk with " Épervier " and " Savorgnan de Brazza " . On 17 June , she patrolled Cherbourg with the squadron of " Courbet " , under Admiral Gaudin de Vilaine . On 19 June , the squadron sailed to Portsmouth . The ships were under repair there when Operation Catapult was triggered , on 3 July . " Léopard " was handed over to the Free French Naval Forces on 31 August . Her command was given to " Lieutenant de vaisseau " Jules Evenou , who went by the nom de guerre of " Jacques Richard " . Local escort at Clyde . In early 1941 , " Léopard " served as a local escort , based at the Clyde . In this function , she would sail for a day or two with a departing convoy and provide protection in the Northern - Western Approaches before returning to Clyde . As such , she escorted convoy WS5B from 12 January 1941 , leaving the convoy on 14 January and returning to Clyde with . On 25 January , she similarly escorted convoy WS7 , returning the next day . On 24 February 1941 , " Léopard " rescued 39 survivors of a British cargo ship and hunted down a German submarine . On 25 March 1941 , she escorted convoy WS7 . In May 1942 , " Léopard " was under repairs at Kingston upon Hull . On 11 July 1942 , at position 33 . 30N , 22 . 52W , as " Léopard " was part of the escort of Convoy OS33 bound for Freetown , HMS " Spey " spotted sailing surfaced . " Spey " gave chase and " U - 136 " dived , attacked by " Spey " ' s depth charges and Hedgehog and sustaining damage which reduced her speed to 3 knots . " Léopard " and then joined in ; " Léopard " made two 10 - charge runs which sank " U - 136 " with all hands at 33 . 28N 23 . 28W . The next day , on 12 July , " Léopard " collided with . She undertook a refit which lasted until March 1942 . Liberation of La Réunion . In the night of 26 November 1942 , " Léopard " sailed with 74 troops from Mauritius to La Réunion to claim the island for Free France . La Réunion was under authority of Governor Aubert , loyal to Vichy France . She arrived off Saint - Denis on 27 November at 23 : 00 . Two launches were sent to search for a favourable landing spot , before the entire 60 - man party landed . At 2 : 30 , " Léopard " was sighted by lookouts , but the landing party was quickly in control of Saint - Denis , meeting little resistance from local troops . A new governor , André Capagorry , landed . Some confusion arose as both governors , Aubert and Capagorry , made conflicting statements . A 95 mm coastal battery defending Saint - Denis harbour , under Lieutenant Hugot , opened fire on " Léopard " , while communist cells activated , taking control of the city hall , arresting the mayor and electing Léon de Lépervanche leader of a " Committee of Public Safety " . As the coastal battery proved impossible to storm for the communist and Gaullist rebels , " Léopard " retreated under fire . She then began pounding Pointe des Galets , while a sortie by Vichy loyalists was thwarted by small arms fire , severely wounding Hugot . The Vichists then retreated to Hell - Bourg , abandoning the battery , which allowed " Léopard " to enter the harbour . When the flag of the ship was known , Vichy forces refused to fight against fellow countrymen and engaged in negotiations , eventually surrendering on 30 November . " Léopard " evacuated officials of the former regime to Mauritius to protect them against popular anger . Patrols in the Indian Ocean . On 4 January 1943 , " Léopard " departed from Kilindini , bound for Tamatave where she arrived on 7 January . From there , she sailed to Diego Suarez , arriving the next day . On 9 January , she left again for Réunion , where she arrived on 11 January , making the passage to Mauritius the same day . On 9 February , she departed Mauritius , bound for Réunion and Tamatave , but had to return on the next day with an engine failure . Having repaired , she sailed again on 11 February and arrived at Tamatave the next day . She returned to Mauritius again on 18 February , arriving on 21 February , and the next day sailed for Diego Suarez . On 25 February , she was at Mauritius again , leaving on 27 February and arriving at Réunion the same day . On 24 April 1943 , " Léopard " left Diego Suarez , bound for Djibouti and Suez . She arrived at Djibouti on 30 April . Loss . On 27 May 1943 , " Léopard " accidentally ran aground near Tobruk . She was destroyed by the tides a few days later and became a total loss .