The ''Spica'' class were a class of
torpedo boats of the
Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) during
World War II. These ships were built as a result of a clause in the
Washington Naval Treaty, which stated that ships with a tonnage of less than 600 could be built in unlimited numbers. Thirty-two ships were built between 1934 and 1937, thirty of which entered service with Italy and two of which were sold to the
Swedish Navy
The Swedish Navy ( sv, Svenska marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet () – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps ().
In Swedish, vessels o ...
in 1940. The two units in Swedish service were classified as destroyers until 1953, then re-classified as
corvette
A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
s. Although commonly referred to as torpedo boats due to their smaller displacement, the ''Spica'' class armaments were similar in design to destroyers (their design was influenced by the then in development) and were intended for
anti-submarine
An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...
duties, although they often had to fight aircraft and surface forces as well. Twenty-three vessels were lost during World War II.
Design
The design work started in 1932, and two prototypes, ''Spica'' and ''Astore'', were built. The hull was long, and
displacement was around standard rather than the permitted by the Washington treaty. Propulsion consisted of a two-shaft, geared turbine layout with two
Yarrow–type boilers. The armament consisted of three
/47 caliber dual-purpose guns in single mountings in 'A', 'X', and 'Y' positions and three or four twin
anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
machine guns—later replaced by 9 to 11
Breda 20/65 modello 35 20 mm cannons in various configurations. They also carried four
torpedo tubes, two for each side, which had a shorter range and a smaller warhead than the ones in use on
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s.
Ships
Notes to table:
See also
* , an enlarged version of the class
Footnotes
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Classe Spica (1933-1940)Marina Militare website
History of the class at italie1935-45.com
Diving around the wreck of ''Aldebaran''
{{Authority control
Torpedo boat classes
World War II torpedo boats of Italy
Ships built in Italy