Le Hardi-class destroyer

Class overview
Le Hardi-class destroyer
Name:	Le Hardi class
Operators:	French Navy Regia Marina
Preceded by:	L'Adroit class
Succeeded by:	T 47 class
Planned:	12
Completed:	8
General characteristics
Type:	Destroyer
Displacement:	1,800 t (1,772 long tons) (standard ) 2,577 t (2,536 long tons) (deep load)
Length:	117.2 m (384 ft 6 in) (o/a)
Beam:	11.1 m (36 ft 5 in)
Draught:	3.8 m (12 ft 6 in)
Installed power:	58,000 PS (42,659 kW; 57,207 shp) 4 Forced-circulation boilers
Propulsion:	2 × Shafts 2 × Geared steam turbines
Speed:	37 knots (69 km/h; 43 mph)
Range:	3,100 nautical miles (5,700 km; 3,600 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	187 officers and enlisted men
Armament:	3 × twin 130 mm (5.1 in) guns 2 × single 37 mm (1.5 in) AA guns 2 × twin 13.2 mm (0.5 in) anti-aircraft machineguns 1 × triple + 2 × twin 550 mm (21.7 in) torpedo tubes 8 or 12 depth charges; 1 or 2 × chutes

The Le Hardi class was a group of twelve destroyers (torpilleurs) built for the French Navy during the late 1930s. Eight ships were commissioned in 1940, with four ships never finished. They were the lighter counterparts to the very fast larger destroyers of the Mogador class, and the successors of L'Adroit class.

The ships of the Le Hardi class were significantly heavier than the L'Adroit's, carrying two additional 130 mm guns in enclosed turrets and an extra torpedo tube. They were also 4 knots faster, being designed to operate with the new French fast battleships Dunkerque and Strasbourg.

Some of the eight ships of the class were renamed in 1941, taking the names of destroyers previously sunk during the war.

Ships

Line drawing of the torpilleur d'escadre Le Hardi'

Ship	Builder	Launched	Fate
Le Hardi	Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, Nantes	4 May 1938	Scuttled 27 November 1942, raised as FR37, scuttled Genoa 24 April 1945
Fleuret (later renamed Foudroyant)	Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne-sur-Mer	28 July 1938	Scuttled 27 November 1942, raised as FR35, Scuttled August 1944
Épée (later renamed L'Adroit)	Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde, Bordeaux	26 October 1938	Scuttled 27 November 1942, raised as FR33, returned to France in a non-repairable condition
Mameluk	Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, Nantes	18 February 1939	Scuttled 27 November 1942
Casque	Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne-sur-Mer	2 November 1938	Scuttled 27 November 1942
Le Flibustier (later renamed Bison)	Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne-sur-Mer	14 December 1939	Scuttled 27 November 1942
Lansequenet	Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde, Bordeaux	20 May 1939	Scuttled 27 November 1942,raised as FR34, scuttled Genoa 24 April 1945
Le Corsaire (later renamed Sirocco).	Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne-sur-Mer	14 November 1939	Scuttled 27 November 1942, raised as FR32. Scuttled in Genoa 1943
L'Intrépide	Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne-sur-Mer	26 June 1941	Not completed, scrapped post war.
Le Téméraire	Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne-sur-Mer	7 November 1941	Not completed, scrapped post war.
L'Opiniâtre	Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde, Bordeaux	not launched	Intended for completion by the Germans, as the ZF2, never finished
L'Aventurier	Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde, Bordeaux	20 April 1947	Used as an experimental hulk post war, broken up 1971

Service history

The entire class was scuttled in Toulon harbour in November 1942 to prevent them falling into German hands.^[1]

Three ships — Épée/L'Adroit, Fleuret/Foudroyant and Lansequenet — were raised, repaired and commissioned into the Italian Navy during 1943 as FR33, FR36 and FR35 respectively. When Italy switched sides, all three were captured by the Germans. Épée was captured in turn by the Allies and the other two scuttled once more to prevent capture.

ZF2

The hull of L'Opiniâtre was captured intact and 16% complete in Bordeaux, and the Kriegsmarine decided to complete her for service. Since French armament was not available, and for standardisation with the rest of the German Navy, 12.7 cm guns and German pattern torpedo tubes were ordered. Work proceeded tardily until all progress was abandoned in July 1943. The hull was eventually broken up on the slip.^[2]

Notes

↑ Conway p270
↑ "ZF2". german-navy.de. 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2013.

References

Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
Jordan, John & Moulin, Jean (2015). French Destroyers: Torpilleurs d'Escadre & Contre-Torpilleurs 1922–1956. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-198-4.
Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.

External links

Le Hardi-class destroyers

French Navy	Le Hardi Fleuret / Foudroyant Épée / L'Adroit Mameluk Casque Le Flibustier / Bison Lansquenet Le Corsaire / Siroco L'Intrépide Le Téméraire L'Opiniâtre L'Aventurier

Kriegsmarine	TA 34 (ex-FR 34) ZF6 / ZF2 (ex-L'Opiniâtre) ZF7 (ex-L'Aventurier)

Regia Marina	FR 32 (ex-Siroco) FR 33 (ex-L'Adroit) FR 34 (ex-Lansquenet) FR 35 (ex-Bison) FR 36 (ex-Foudroyant) FR 37 (ex-Le Hardi)

Preceded by: L'Adroit class Followed by: T 47 class

List of destroyers of the French Navy

French naval ship classes of World War II

Aircraft carriers	Béarn^S Joffre^X

Battleships	Courbet Bretagne Dunkerque Richelieu Alsace^X

Heavy cruisers	Duquesne Suffren Algérie^S

Light cruisers	Duguay-Trouin Jeanne d'Arc^S Émile Bertin^S La Galissonnière De Grasse^S

Large destroyers	Chacal Guépard Aigle Vauquelin Le Fantasque Mogador

Destroyers	Bourrasque L'Adroit Le Hardi La Melpomène

Submarines	Sirène Ariane Circé Argonaute Orion Diane Saphir Requin Redoutable Surcouf^S Minerve Aurore

Other	Bougainville (aviso) Elan (minesweeper/aviso) Commandant Teste^S (seaplane tender) Pluton^S (minelaying cruiser)

S Single ship of class X Cancelled

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