The Vauquelin class was a group of six large destroyers (contre-torpilleurs) built for the French Navy (Marine Nationale) in the early 1930s.

Three of the sisters briefly deployed to Scotland in early 1940 to support the Allied forces in the Norwegian Campaign and Maillé Brézé was lost to an accidental explosion.

The others returned to the Mediterranean in time to participate in Operation Vado, a bombardment of Italian coastal facilities after Italy entered the war in June.

Sunk en route, the ship was replaced by her sister Vauquelin which successfully delivered the ammunition and then attempted to transport reinforcements and supplies to Lebanon.

The design was virtually identical to the preceding Aigle-class destroyers, although the stern was reshaped to improve minelaying and the torpedo armament was revised.

The turbines were designed to produce 64,000 metric horsepower (47,000 kW; 63,000 shp) which was intended give the ships a speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph).

During their sea trials, each of the ships comfortably exceeded their designed speed, ranging from 38.4 to 41 knots (71.1 to 75.9 km/h; 44.2 to 47.2 mph) from 69,326 to 79,846 PS (50,989 to 58,727 kW; 68,378 to 78,754 shp).

[6] Their secondary armament consisted of four 50-caliber semi-automatic 37-millimeter (1.5 in) Modèle 1925 anti-aircraft (AA) guns in single mounts positioned amidships.

In addition there were two twin mounts for Hotchkiss Mitrailleuse de 13.2-millimeter (0.52 in) CA Modèle 1929 AA machine guns on the forecastle deck abreast the bridge.

They were also fitted with a pair of depth-charge throwers, one on each broadside abreast the aft funnels, for which they carried a dozen 100-kilogram (220 lb) depth charges.

[10] The Marine Nationale reconsidered its anti-submarine warfare tactics after the war began in September and intended to reinstate the depth-charge throwers, although these were an older model than the one previously installed.

[16] On 27 August 1939, in anticipation of war with Nazi Germany, the French Navy planned to reorganize the Mediterranean Fleet into the Forces de haute mer of three squadrons.

[17] In April 1940 the 5th Scout Division with Chevalier Paul, Tartu and Maillé Brézé was tasked to escort convoys between Scotland and Norway.

Four days after the Italians declared war on 10 June, Tartu, Cassard and Chevalier Paul were among the ships ordered to bombard targets in Vado Ligure.

She reached Beirut four days later; on the 29th, all three of the Division de contre-torpilleurs based there sailed for Greece to load reinforcements and supplies bound for Lebanon.

In the meantime, Tartu, Cassard and a heavy cruiser transported a battalion of infantry from Algiers, French Algeria, to Marseilles between 30 June and 1 July that was intended to reinforce the Levant.

The Germans and Italians made only cursory attempts to salvage the ships, not least because three were further damaged during Allied air attacks in 1944 and they were scrapped in place between 1950 and 1956.