The Destroyer ‘Le Terrible’ Was Blazingly Fast

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By Robert Beckhusen,War Is Boring

Destroyers in World War I rarely got close enough to battle an enemy fleet with their guns, so navies began building faster, most robust and heavily-armed destroyers packing bigger weapons and additional torpedo tubes.

During the following interwar period, no country embraced this trend more than France, which built several large, fast destroyer classes—one of which still holds the world speed record for a destroyer at 45.1 knots. However, “destroyer” can be a vague term. Case in point is the U.S. Navy’s modern Freedom-class littoral combat ship which is considerably smaller than a modern destroyer, but larger, heavier and faster than a World War II-era one.

The Le Fantasque-class destroyer Le Terrible was laid down in 1931, launched in 1933 and secured the speed record in 1935 during her trial runs. She was formally commissioned into the French navy on May 1, 1936 at a displacement of 2,570 tons. The warship carried five 5.4-inch guns and nine torpedo tubes located amidships. Even though 45 knots was her record flank speed, 40 knots was typical.

The Washington Naval Treaty played a role in the impressive La Fantasqueclass. France, Japan, Italy, the United States and the United Kingdom agreed in 1922 to limit the strength and size of their navies, particularly capital ships such as battleships and aircraft carriers. Destroyers, however, did not have such restrictions, which incentivized navies to build more formidable versions.

A tragic fate struck the Le Fantasque class as with the rest of the French navy. Le Terrible first prowled for German cargo ships but then fell into Axis hands following the capitulation of France on June 22, 1940, which split the French navy into warring Free French and Axis-aligned Vichy camps.