torpedo armament was reduced to a pair of triple mounts. The start of the war in September 1939 completely disrupted this plan as building of these ships was suspended. When construction was resumed in March 1940, Admiral François Darlan, the navy's Chief of Staff, was informed that no newly designed destroyers could enter service before 1944, but that either three Le Hardi-class ships or four could begin sea trials in 1943. On 28 April Darlan decided on modified Le Hardis with either the originally specified hull or the proposed larger version, depending on how advanced the design work was. He also specified a top speed of and a range of at . Their armament was to consist of two or three 130-millimetre DP guns with an elevation limited to 40 or 50°; as the mounts were not likely be ready before the ships were completed, he proposed an interim armament of three or four 100-millimetre guns in high-angle mounts. The rest of the armament was to consist of one twin and two single mounts for 37-millimetre AA guns, two twin-gun AA machine gun mounts, two triple mounts for torpedoes and a pair of depth charge rails and a pair of depth charge throwers for twenty 100-kilogram depth charges. Ships The name ship of the class was authorized in the 1932 Naval Estimates, but construction was significantly delayed by the financial impact of the Great Depression and bilateral arms limitation talks between France and Fascist Italy that caused the French Parliament to suspend all new naval construction until 1934. Even then Le Hardi was not laid down until late the following year, to be followed a few months later by two sister ships authorized in the 1935 Naval Estimates and then three more in mid-1936 as part of that year's Naval Estimates. The remaining six ships were authorized in the 1937, 1938 and 1938bis Naval Estimates. Construction of the first six ships was slowed by the social and industrial disruptions associated with the that took power in 1936 so that Le Hardi was the only ship to complete all of her sea trials. The next four ships began their acceptance trials between March and May 1940 and all entered service in June with the Germans advancing on the naval bases in Brittany. The most complete of the remaining ships was finished after the armistice and six of the last seven ships