French destroyer Léopard

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For other ships with the same name, see French ship Léopard.

Free French destroyer Léopard on 6 June 1942
Léopard at anchor, 6 June 1942
History
France
NameLéopard
NamesakeLeopard
BuilderAteliers et Chantiers de la Loire, Saint-Nazaire
Laid down14 August 1923
Launched29 September 1924
Commissioned15 November 1927
Honours and
awards
Médaille de la Résistance with rosette, 29 November 1946[1]
FateRan aground and wrecked, 27 May 1943
General characteristics (as built)
Class and typeChacal-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 2,126 t (2,092 long tons) (standard)
  • 2,980–3,075 t (2,933–3,026 long tons) (
    full load
    )
Length126.8 m (416 ft 0.1 in)
Beam11.1 m (36 ft 5.0 in)
Draft4.1 m (13 ft 5.4 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed35.5 knots (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph)
Range3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Crew12 officers, 209 crewmen (wartime)
Armament

The French destroyer Léopard was a

Free French
.

Léopard escorted convoys in the

liberating the island of La Réunion in late 1942. She ran aground near Benghazi just a few weeks after being transferred to the Mediterranean in mid-1943. Salvage
attempts failed and her wreck was abandoned after it broke in half.

Design and description

The Chacal-class ships were designed to counter the large Italian

kW; 49,000 shp), which would propel the ship at 35.5 knots (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph). During her sea trials on 12 May 1927, Léopard reached 35.59 knots (65.91 km/h; 40.96 mph) for a single hour. The ships carried 530 metric tons (522 long tons) of fuel oil which gave them a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). Their crew consisted of 10 officers and 187 crewmen in peacetime and 12 officers and 209 enlisted men in wartime.[4]

The main armament of the Chacal-class ships consisted of five

amidships. The ships carried two above-water triple sets of 550-millimeter (21.7 in) torpedo tubes. A pair of depth charge chutes were built into their stern; these housed a total of twenty 200-kilogram (440 lb) depth charges. They were also fitted with four depth-charge throwers for which they carried a dozen 100-kilogram (220 lb) depth charges.[5]

Construction and career

Léopard in 1939

Léopard, named after the

anti-aircraft machineguns. On 15 July 1935, Léopard and her sister Chacal of the 8th DL were assigned to the Naval School (Ecole Navale) at Brest. On 12 April 1937, the 8th DL was redesignated as the 2nd Large Destroyer Division (2ème division de contre-torpeilleurs) (DCT); their sister Jaguar joined them in September.[6]

World War II

By 7 September 1939, Léopard was no longer a part of the 2nd DCT and was assigned to the Western Command (Forces maritimes de l'Ouest) for convoy escort duties from October to May 1940 where she guarded convoys traveling between

ASDIC installed; in addition two depth-charge throwers were reinstalled, No. 3 gun removed, and her depth charge stowage reduced to a dozen 200 kg and eight 100 kg depth charges to improve her stability.[7]

By 22 May Léopard was reassigned to the 2nd DCT when the unit was tasked to carry demolition teams to the northernmost French ports; the ship arrived at Boulogne-sur-Mer that evening.[8] Together with Chacal and eight smaller destroyers, Léopard bombarded advancing German troops as they approached the defenses of Boulogne-sur-Mer, firing the last shots of the battle at midday on 24 May. On 28 May, a special flotilla was constituted under the command of Admiral Marcel Landriau [fr], with his flag on the aviso Savorgnan de Brazza, with these ships and a number of smaller units to support the ongoing evacuation of Dunkirk. On 3 June, the contre-torpilleur rescued 19 British soldiers from a boat and delivered them to England.[9]

In mid-June, Léopard defended the approaches to

nom de guerre of "Jacques Richard".[11]

Service with the Free French

Léopard was commissioned by the Free French on 3 September although she was under repair until November as the British dockyards were very congested. During this time, the British took the opportunity to improve her anti-aircraft suite. A

2-pounder (40 mm) Mk II "pom-pom" light AA guns were added on platforms on the side of the forward superstructure. Upon the completion of this refit, she was assigned to convoy escort duties in the Western Approaches.[12] On 24 February 1941, Léopard rescued 39 survivors of a British cargo ship.[11]

On 8 May 1941, she began a lengthy conversion into an escort destroyer at Kingston upon Hull. Her forward boiler and its funnel were removed and replaced by additional oil storage and additional accommodation for her ratings. They reduced her maximum speed to 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph), but increased her fuel storage to 780 metric tons (770 long tons; 860 short tons) which raised her range to 4,200 nmi (7,800 km; 4,800 mi), and her crew to 234 ratings. Her troublesome depth charge chutes were sealed off and their machinery was removed; her stern had to be rebuilt to accommodate two rails at the stern, each with a dozen 251-kilogram (553 lb) Mk VIIH heavy depth charges, plus an additional four stored below decks. Her two existing depth charge throwers were replaced by four improved Thornycroft Mk IV throwers. The ship carried a total of twenty-four 191-kilogram (421 lb) Mk VII light depth charges for the throwers. To compensate for the weight of the additional depth charges, her aft torpedo tubes were removed. The 4-inch gun was replaced by a single 20-millimeter (0.8 in) Oerlikon light AA gun and two others replaced the "pom-pom"s. These were moved to positions on the upper deck that had formerly been occupied by the 75 mm guns and another gun was added on top of the aft superstructure. A pair of quadruple mounts for Vickers 0.5 in (12.7 mm) AA machineguns were added on the forward superstructure. A Type 291 search radar was also added.[13]

Charles De Gaulle
inspecting sailors aboard Léopard, 24 June 1942

While escorting Convoy OS33 on 11 July 1942, the

sloop HMS Pelican and they sank the submarine at coordinates 33°28′N 23°28′W / 33.467°N 23.467°W / 33.467; -23.467.[14] The next day Léopard collided with the sloop HMS Lowestoft and had her bow stove in by the British ship. She was repaired in South Africa in September–October.[15]

Liberation of La Réunion

Commemorative plaque of the liberation of La Réunion

Léopard had been selected to convince the Vichy government of La Réunion to join the Free French in June, but the collision and her consequent repairs delayed her mission. On the night of 27/28 November, she arrived off the island with 80 troops aboard. They were landed successfully and seized control of

battery engaged the contre-torpilleur and she fired back, with men killed on both sides. The Vichy hold-outs surrendered on the 30th and Léopard remained in the Indian Ocean escorting convoys until March 1943.[16]

She was briefly refitted at

Diégo-Suarez, Madagascar from 13 March to mid-April when she was transferred to the Mediterranean.[16] Léopard arrived in Alexandria, Egypt, on 12 May and screened a convoy to Malta shortly afterwards. She departed on 24 May with a convoy returning to Alexandria and accidentally ran aground near Benghazi three days later after aerial attacks disrupted the convoy. The Allies attempted to refloat her by sealing damaged areas between her bilges with cement and dredging a channel back to the sea.[17] The weather soured and the wreck broke in two in a gale on 19 June and was declared a total loss on 1 July.[15]

Notes

  1. ^ "La Médaille de la Résistance" (in French). Musée de l'Ordre de la Liberation. Archived from the original on 13 June 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  2. ^ Jordan & Moulin, p. 22
  3. ^ Chesneau, p. 267
  4. ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 18, 22–27, 35
  5. ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 27–33
  6. ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 20–21, 38–39, 213–14, 217
  7. ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 39, 225, 227–28
  8. ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 227–28
  9. ^ Admiralty Historical Section, p. 107; Bertrand, pp. 78, 85; Smith, p. 27; Winser, p. 113
  10. ^ Auphan & Mordal, p. 88; Bertrand, p. 124
  11. ^ a b "Jules Evenou". ordredelaliberation.fr (in French). 2012. Archived from the original on 17 June 2009. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  12. ^ Jordan & Moulin, p. 251
  13. ^ Jordan & Moulin, pp. 251–52
  14. ^ "Convoy OS.33". convoyweb.org.uk. 2005. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  15. ^ a b Jordan & Moulin, p. 250
  16. ^ a b Bertrand, p. 159
  17. ^ Keeble, Chapter VI “The Fight for ‘Leopard’” pp. 86-101

References

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