French destroyer Audacieux

The Audacieux was a large destroyer (contre-torpilleur) of the French Navy used during the Second World War.

History
Audacieux was launched on March 14, 1934, and commissioned on August 8, 1936. In October 1939, with her sister ships Terrible and Fantasque, the Audacieux captured the German cargo ship Santa Fé and took part in the pursuit of the "pocket battleship" Graf Spee. In November and December of the same year, she also conducted patrols in the North Atlantic.

In March 1940, she took part in anti-submarine patrols in the Mediterranean, from her base at Casablanca. In May of the same year, Audacieux had various fights with German planes, but was not hit. On May 29, after taking part in Operation Dynamo, Audacieux collided with the destroyers Frondeur and Boulonnais off Dunkerque, and was sent for repairs in Brest until June 13. On June 18, Audacieux, together with Léopard and Courbet, patrolled Cherbourg. On July 3, Audacieux took part in the battle of Mers-el-Kebir, engaging British aircraft. She attempted to launch torpedo attacks on British heavy fleet units, but was retired to cover Strasbourg during her retreat to Toulon. On September 23, she took part in the Battle of Dakar; after being heavily damaged, she was beached. She was refloated in February 1941; however, she was too badly damaged for repair and was immobilized as a training hulk.

Audacieux was taken over by the Germans on November 27, 1942, the day that the French fleet was scuttled at Toulon harbor, and was renamed ZF-5. She was towed to Bizerte, Tunisia, on May 4, 1943, to be repaired, but she was sunk by British planes three days later.

The hulk was refloated in December 1943 and used as a source of spares for her surviving sisters. The remains were sold for scrap in August 1948 and broken up at Sfax.