Victory at Sea: Chacal-class destroyers

Also known as the Jaguar-class, Chacal (Jackal)-class destroyers were designed to fulfil a scouting role for fleet battle lines and to attack enemy shipping in the Mediterranean. As a result, they possessed poor endurance, mounted no anti-submarine weapons, and had woefully inadequate anti-aircraft fire, especially in the face of the German Luftwaffe. The six ships of this class were all named after predators (Chacal, Jaguar, Léopard, Lynx, Panthère, Tigre) and saw wildly varying actions and fates during the war.…