French destroyer Épée (1938)
The French destroyer "Épée" was one of a dozen s 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 (Royal Italian Navy) in 1943, but was sunk again by Allied bombers. The ship was refloated in 1945 and subsequently scrapped. Design and description. The "Le  Hardi" class was designed to escort the fast battleships of the and to counter the large destroyers of the Italian and Japanese es. The ships had an overall length of , a beam of , and a draft of . The ships displaced at standard and at deep load. They were powered by two geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by four Sural-Penhöet forced-circulation boilers. The turbines were designed to produce , which was intended to give the ships a maximum speed of . "Le Hardi", the only ship of the class to run sea trials, comfortably exceeded  that speed during her trials on 6 November 1939, reaching a maximum speed of from . The ships carried of fuel oil which gave them a range of at . The crew consisted of 10 officers and 177 enlisted men. The main armament of the "Le Hardi"-class ships consisted of six Canon de 130 mm Modèle 1932 guns in three twin mounts, one forward and a superfiring pair aft of the superstructure. Their anti-aircraft (AA) armament consisted of one twin mount for AA guns and two twin Hotchkiss anti-aircraft machine gun mounts. The ships carried one triple and two twin  sets of torpedo tubes, all above-water. One depth charge chute was built into the stern; this housed eight depth charges. The other side of the stern was used for the handling gear for a "Ginocchio" anti-submarine torpedo, but this was removed before the ship was completed. Modifications. In late 1941 and early 1942 the twin Hotchkiss machine guns were repositioned on the quarterdeck and a pair of single mounts for Hotchkiss AA guns were installed in their place in front of the bridge. In addition a pair of single mounts for Browning 13.2-millimeter AA machine guns were  added on platforms on the sides of the superfiring turret aft. Construction and career. 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 and , helped to escort the incomplete battleship 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 , together with the destroyers and 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 , 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 DT (), consisting of "L'Adroit", "Le Hardi" and "Mameluk", was assigned to the . 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.