Spica-class torpedo boat
Torpedo boat Cassiopea | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | Curtatone class |
| Succeeded by | Ariete class |
| Built | 1934–1937 |
| In service | 1935–1964 |
| Completed | 32 |
| Lost | 21 to Italian armistice (23) |
| Retired | 8 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Torpedo boat |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 83.5 m (274 ft)oa |
| Beam | 8.1 m (27 ft) |
| Draught | 2.55 m (8 ft 4 in) |
| Installed power | 19,000 hp (14,000 kW) |
| Propulsion | 2 boilers, 2 steam turbines, 2 shafts |
| Speed | 34 kn (63 km/h; 39 mph) |
| Complement | 116 |
| Sensors & processing systems | Sonar and hydrophones |
| Armament |
|
The Spica-class was 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.
Called torpedo boats due to their smaller displacement, the Spica-class had armament similar to destroyers (influenced by the Maestrale-class destroyer) and were intended for anti-submarine operations but also had to fight aircraft and surface ships. Twenty-three vessels were lost during the war, two had been sold to the Swedish Navy in 1940 and were called destroyers until 1953, and then renamed to corvettes.