Spica-class torpedo boat

Torpedo boat Cassiopea
Class overview
Operators
Preceded byCurtatone class
Succeeded byAriete class
Built1934–1937
In service1935–1964
Completed32
Lost21 to Italian armistice (23)
Retired8
General characteristics
TypeTorpedo boat
Displacement
  • 795 long tons (808 t) standard
  • 1,020 long tons (1,040 t) full load
Length83.5 m (274 ft)oa
Beam8.1 m (27 ft)
Draught2.55 m (8 ft 4 in)
Installed power19,000 hp (14,000 kW)
Propulsion2 boilers, 2 steam turbines, 2 shafts
Speed34 kn (63 km/h; 39 mph)
Complement116
Sensors and
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.