	"Vauquelin" and the other two , and originally based in Beirut, sailed on 29 June, bound for Thessaloniki in Axis-controlled Greece. They loaded 450 men from a battalion of Algerian Light Infantry () and of supplies as reinforcements for Lebanon. The ships departed on 5 July, but were spotted by a British reconnaissance aircraft en route and returned to Thessaloniki on the 9th in accordance with their orders to turn back if spotted. All three arrived at Toulon on 22 July.