A super-destroyer, large destroyer, or 'contre-torpilleur' to use the French term, was a class of ship that sat between the destroyer and cruiser in terms of speed, armament and role. In the interwar period, destroyers were small ships, intended to protect the fleet and attack the enemy's fleet with torpedoes. Cruisers, meanwhile, were larger ships, capable of independent action on longer cruises in defense of merchant shipping around the world. In a fleet action, cruisers were largely tasked with scouting, locating the enemy's fleet. Super-destroyers were large destroyers, with a much heavier gun armament than the typical destroyer, intended to scout for the fleet and lead groups of ordinary destroyers. Given their size and armament, they are sometimes considered small light cruisers.

Super-destroyers were common in the major European navies (France, Italy, the Netherlands and, to some extent, Germany) during the 1930s. These navies had relatively minor commitments around the world, and were not seeking the sort of world-wide sea-control that navies like the Royal Navy or United States Navy did (nor did they have the budget to do so). Instead, they focused on fighting battles close to home, in the North Sea or Mediterranean. Given this strategic focus, these navies built fewer cruisers than the RN or USN. These cruisers would likely be committed to the defense of colonies and merchant ships (or hunting enemy merchant ships) in event of war. However, the battlefleet still required a scouting force, to locate the enemy's fleet, in a battle fought close to home. Large destroyers, which did not have the range of the cruiser, but would be well-armed and fast enough to be an effective scout, were an obvious solution to this problem. They would also have the firepower to ward off enemy destroyers from the fleet as required.

There were several classes of these large destroyers built in the 1930s. The Dutch began construction on two ships of the Tromp class, armed with six 150mm guns in the late 1930s, though one was completed as an AA ship after the start of WWII. The Germans, meanwhile, built the large Type 1936A ('Narvik') class of destroyers, armed with four to five 150mm guns, for this role. The Italians had a mixed approach. The Capitani Romani class were typical large destroyers, with eight 135mm guns, but construction on this class only started in 1939. In the interwar period, the Italian Navy instead focused on the fast, very lightly armoured, small cruisers of the Condottieri class to fill the gap. The French, though, were the greatest proponent of the type, building six classes from 1920 to 1939. These were large, fast ships. They had a typical armament of five 138mm guns, and could typically exceed 35 knots. The later classes were some of the fastest ships in the world, capable of speeds over 40 knots. The ship sunk by British aircraft in the Eastern Mediterranean was Le Chevalier Paul, of the Vauqeulin class, tasked with carrying ammunition to the Vichy forces fighting in Syria and Lebanon.