Spica-class torpedo boat

Torpedo boat Cassiopea
Class overview
Operators	Regia Marina  Swedish Navy  Italian Navy
Preceded by	Curtatone class
Succeeded by	Ariete class
Built	1934–1937
In service	1935–1964
Completed	32
Lost	23
General characteristics
Type	Torpedo boat
Displacement	795 long tons (808 t) standard 1,020 long tons (1,040 t) full load
Length	83.5 m (273 ft 11 in)oa
Beam	8.1 m (26 ft 7 in)
Draught	2.55 m (8 ft 4 in)
Installed power	19,000 hp (14,200 kW)
Propulsion	2 boilers, 2 steam turbines, 2 shafts
Speed	34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph)
Complement	116
Sensors and processing systems	Sonar and hydrophones
Armament	3 × 100 mm (3.9 in) 100/47 dual-purpose guns 8 × 13.2 mm (0.52 in) anti-aircraft machine guns in 4 x twin mounts, later replaced by: 6–11 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Breda 20/65 mod. 35 AA guns 4 × 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes (single or twin mounts; varied between series) Up to 20 mines

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 in 1940. The two units in Swedish service were classified as destroyers until 1953, then re-classified as corvettes. 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 Maestrale-class destroyer then in development) and were intended for anti-submarine duties, although they often had to fight aircraft and surface forces as well. Twenty-three vessels were lost during World War II.