Torpedo boat Cassiopea
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Class overview | |
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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 and processing systems | Sonar and hydrophones |
Armament |
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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.