The Aventurier-class ships were significantly larger and more heavily armed than other French destroyers of the period.

The engines were designed to produce 18,000 shaft horsepower (13,000 kW) which was intended to give the ships a speed of 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph).

[2] The primary armament of the Aventurier-class ships consisted of four 100-millimeter (3.9 in) guns in single mounts, one on the forecastle, one between the funnels, and two on the quarterdeck, in front and behind the searchlight platform.

[1] Téméraire was ordered from Ateliers et Chantiers de Bretagne and was launched on 8 December 1911 with the name of San Juan at its Nantes shipyard.

[2] On 27 May 1915, Téméraire and her sister ship Opiniâtre escorted the armored cruiser Victor Hugo as she transported Vice-Admiral (Vice-amiral) Augustin Boué de Lapeyrère, commander of the 1st Naval Army (1ère Armée Navale), to Taranto, Italy, for a meeting with Admiral Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi (Duca degli Abruzzi), Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Italian Navy (Regia Marina).