The ''Spica''-class was a class of
torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
s of the (Royal Italian Navy) during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. These ships were built as a result of a clause in the
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting Navy, naval construction. It was negotiated at ...
, 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 ) 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 weapon ...
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
The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...
in 1940 and were called destroyers until 1953, and then renamed to
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 sloo ...
s.
Design
The design work started in 1932 supervised by the general engineer Gustavo Bozzoni. Two prototypes, ''Spica'' and ''Astore'', were completed in 1935 and sold to the Swedish Navy. The hull was long, and
displacement
Displacement may refer to:
Physical sciences
Mathematics and physics
*Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
was around and standard rather than the permitted by the Washington treaty. Propulsion consisted of a two-shaft, geared turbine layout with two
Yarrow–type boilers.
The gun armament consisted of three
/47 caliber
dual-purpose gun
A dual-purpose gun is a naval artillery mounting designed to engage both surface and air targets.
Description
Second World War-era capital ships had four classes of artillery: the heavy main battery, intended to engage opposing battleships and ...
s in single mountings in 'A', 'X', and 'Y' positions and three or four twin
anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...
machine guns, later replaced by 6 to 11
Breda 20/65 modello 35 20 mm cannon in various configurations. ''Lupo'', for example, replaced her eight machine-guns by 1941 with three twin 20 mm guns; two abreast the bridge and one between the funnel and second main gun, leaving the former MG platform immediately abaft the funnel vacant.
They also carried four
torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s; two tubes for each side in the first group, with later groups having varying configurations including a centreline twin- and two single-beam mounts, before settling on two centreline twin mounts in the last vessels. Some earlier ships were reportedly refitted with the all-centreline arrangement during the war. This weapon had a shorter range and a smaller warhead than the torpedoes in use on
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
s. Twenty-one ''Spica''-class torpedo boats were lost during the war, three mined by the submarine mine-layer , three sunk by submarines, seven by aircraft, seven by ships and one by a collision.
Ships
Notes to table
See also
* , an enlarged version of the class
Citations
Bibliography
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Further reading
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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