She became a training ship in the mid-1930s before serving as a convoy escort during World War II before the Germans invaded France in May 1940.

After that time, she bombarded advancing German forces near the northern French coast and took part in the Dunkirk evacuation.

Their anti-aircraft armament consisted of two Canon de 75 mm modèle 1924 guns in single mounts positioned amidships.

[5] Léopard, named after the eponymous feline, was ordered on 26 February 1923 from the Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire.

She was laid down on 14 August 1923 at their shipyard at Saint-Nazaire, launched on 29 September 1924, commissioned on 15 June 1927, completed on 13 October and entered service on 15 November.

The next year, the ship was present when the fleet was reviewed by the President of France, Albert Lebrun, in Cherbourg on 20 July 1933.

[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.

[9] In mid-June, Léopard defended the approaches to Cherbourg and sailed to Portsmouth on 19 June, after the port surrendered to the Germans.

[13] While escorting Convoy OS33 on 11 July 1942, the frigate HMS Spey spotted the German submarine U-136 on the surface and made multiple attacks after the U-boat dived.

[15] 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.

They were landed successfully and seized control of Saint-Denis, Réunion, the island's capital, although the governor fled into the interior.

The Allies attempted to refloat her by sealing damaged areas between her bilges with cement and dredging a channel back to the sea.