[c++] Do I need to explicitly call the base virtual destructor?

Destructors in C++ automatically gets called in the order of their constructions (Derived then Base) only when the Base class destructor is declared virtual.

If not, then only the base class destructor is invoked at the time of object deletion.

Example: Without virtual Destructor

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

class Base{
public:
  Base(){
    cout << "Base Constructor \n";
  }

  ~Base(){
    cout << "Base Destructor \n";
  }

};

class Derived: public Base{
public:
  int *n;
  Derived(){
    cout << "Derived Constructor \n";
    n = new int(10);
  }

  void display(){
    cout<< "Value: "<< *n << endl;
  }

  ~Derived(){
    cout << "Derived Destructor \n";
  }
};

int main() {

 Base *obj = new Derived();  //Derived object with base pointer
 delete(obj);   //Deleting object
 return 0;

}

Output

Base Constructor
Derived Constructor
Base Destructor

Example: With Base virtual Destructor

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

class Base{
public:
  Base(){
    cout << "Base Constructor \n";
  }

  //virtual destructor
  virtual ~Base(){
    cout << "Base Destructor \n";
  }

};

class Derived: public Base{
public:
  int *n;
  Derived(){
    cout << "Derived Constructor \n";
    n = new int(10);
  }

  void display(){
    cout<< "Value: "<< *n << endl;
  }

  ~Derived(){
    cout << "Derived Destructor \n";
    delete(n);  //deleting the memory used by pointer
  }
};

int main() {

 Base *obj = new Derived();  //Derived object with base pointer
 delete(obj);   //Deleting object
 return 0;

}

Output

Base Constructor
Derived Constructor
Derived Destructor
Base Destructor

It is recommended to declare base class destructor as virtual otherwise, it causes undefined behavior.

Reference: Virtual Destructor