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Spica-class torpedo boat

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For the 1960s era Swedish torpedo boat class, see Spica-class torpedo boat (Sweden).

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.

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

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, then renamed corvettes

Design

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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 81.4–65.72 m (267.1–215.6 ft) long, and displacement was around 789.31–799.29 t (776.84–786.67 long tons; 870.07–881.07 short tons) and 982–1,054.665 t (966.491–1,038.008 long tons; 1,082.470–1,162.569 short tons) standard rather than the 600 short tons (540 t) permitted by the Washington treaty. Propulsion consisted of a two-shaft, geared turbine layout with two Yarrow–type boilers.[1]

The gun armament consisted of three 100 mm (4 in)/47 caliber dual-purpose guns in single mountings in 'A', 'X', and 'Y' positions and three or four twin 13.2 mm (0.52 in) anti-aircraft 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.)[1]

They also carried four 450 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes; 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 533 mm (21 in) torpedoes in use on destroyers.[citation needed]

Twenty-one Spica-class torpedo boats were lost during the war, three mined by the submarine mine-layer HMS Rorqual, three sunk by submarines, seven by aircraft, seven by ships and one by a collision.[2]

Ships

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Construction data and service histories
Ship Hull ltr.s[3] Builder Completed Operational history
Airone AO Ansaldo, Sestri Ponente 10 May 1938 Sunk 12 October 1940 in the Battle of Cape Passero by cruiser HMS Ajax. She had three hits from her main guns on the British cruiser before being disabled; 59 men lost. Ajax hit by seven shells that destroyed one of her whalers, caused severe damage to the bridge and radar installation and 35 casualties, including 13 killed.[4]
Alcione AC Ansaldo, Sestri Ponente 10 May 1938 Sunk 11 December 1941 by submarine HMS Truant.[5][6]
Aldebaran AL Ansaldo, Sestri Ponente 6 December 1936 Sunk 20 October 1941 in the Saronic Gulf, by mines laid by the mine-laying submarine HMS Rorqual.[7][6]
Altair AT Ansaldo, Sestri Ponente 23 December 1936 Sunk 20 October 1941 in the Saronic Gulf, by mines laid by submarine mine-layer HMS Rorqual.[7][6]
Andromeda AD Ansaldo, Sestri Ponente 6 December 1936 Sunk 17 March 1941 at Valona, Albania by British torpedo-bombers.[7]
Antares AN Ansaldo, Sestri Ponente 23 December 1936 Sank Greek submarine Proteus by ramming 40 nmi (74 km; 46 mi) east of Brindisi, on 29 December 1940.[8] Sunk 28 March 1943 at Livorno by USAAF bombers.[5]
Aretusa AU Ansaldo, Sestri Ponente 1 July 1938 On 2 December 1942, while escorting a three-ship convoy, Aretusa shot down one of three Fairey Albacore that torpedoed the merchant ships south of Kerkennah Islands. One of the ships in the convoy was sunk by the aircraft and Lupo was sunk by British destroyers while recovering survivors at night. The remaining ships reached destination next morning. Severely damaged by bombing on 13 April 1943, repaired a few months later.[9] Survived the war and served in the post war Marina Militare. Decommissioned 1 August 1958.[5]
Ariel AE Ansaldo, Sestri Ponente 1 July 1938 Sunk 12 October 1940 in the battle of Cape Passero by British cruiser HMS Ajax, with the loss of 98 men.[10]
Astore AS BSN, Naples[a] 30 May 1935 Sold to Sweden as HSwMS Remus in 1940.[7] Decommissioned 1958.
Calipso CI Ansaldo, Sestri Ponente 16 November 1938 Sunk 5 December 1940, by mines from submarine mine-layer HMS Rorqual east of Tripoli.[5][11]
Calliope CP Ansaldo, Sestri Ponente 28 October 1938 Up to September 1943, she provided 117 escort missions to merchant ship convoys and took part in 21 various combat missions covering a total of more than 77,500 nmi (143,500 km; 89,200 mi). Shot down six British aircraft while escorting convoys to Libya.[12] Survived the war and served in the post war Marina Militare. Decommissioned 1 August 1958.[5]
Canopo CA CT, Riva Trigoso[b] 31 March 1937 Sunk 3 May 1941 by British bombers at Tripoli.[5]
Cassiopea CS CT, Riva Trigoso[b] 26 April 1937 Sank British destroyer HMS Pakenham in the Battle of the Cigno Convoy, to the south-east of Marettimo island, on 16 April 1943, escorting a merchant ship to Tunis. Severely damaged, she was taken in tow by Climene.[13] Survived the war and served in the post war Marina Militare. Decommissioned 1959.[5]
Castore CT CNR, Ancona[c] 16 January 1937 On 13 January 1942, she led a convoy from Tripoli to Taranto that outmanoeuvred British destroyers HMS Jaguar, Lance, Lively and Zulu. The convoy, composed of the transports Monginevro and Monviso, had been spotted and attacked by Swordfish of 830 Squadron.[14] Castore defeated British motor boats and small vessels attempting to land at Tobruk in Operation Agreement. She later rounded up a number of British survivors and small amphibious craft from the sea. Sunk 2 June 1943 by Allied destroyers HMS Jervis and Vasilissa Olga in the Battle of the Messina Convoy from Taranto to Messina, which reached their destination.[15]
Centauro CO CNR, Ancona[c] 16 June 1936 Sunk 4 November 1942, bombed in Benghazi harbour.[5]
Cigno CG CNR, Ancona[c] 15 March 1937 She was part of the screen of destroyers and torpedo boats escorting a four-freighter convoy to Tripoli on 26 May 1941, when two Blenheim bombers were shot down.[16] Cigno rescued hundreds of Italian survivors after the Battle of Cape Bon, where she dodged four torpedoes launched by the Dutch destroyer HNLMS Isaac Sweers. Sunk in the Battle of the Cigno Convoy, 16 April 1943, south-east of Marettimo Island, by British destroyers HMS Paladin and HMS Pakenham, while escorting a transport ship to Tunis; Pakenham also sunk.[13]
Circe CC Ansaldo, Sestri Ponente 4 October 1938 Attempted (with Vega) to ambush a British convoy south of Pantelleria in January 1941. Vega was sunk and the cruiser HMS Bonaventure was damaged.[17] Sank submarines HMS Grampus, HMS Union, HMS P38 and HMS Tempest.[18] Sunk by collision 27 November 1942.[5]
Climene CE CNR, Ancona[c] 24 April 1936 She took part in the shooting down of three Beaufort torpedo-bombers and a Beaufighter while escorting a convoy, 20–21 August. 1942.[19] Sunk 28 April 1943 by submarine HMS Unshaken.[5]
Clio CL Ansaldo, Sestri Ponente 2 October 1938 Sank submarine HMS Triton in December 1940. Clio shot down a Swordfish torpedo bomber from the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious[20] while escorting a four ship convoy off Sfax on 21 December 1940.[20][d][21] She also participated in the battle of Skerki Bank, on 2 December 1942. Survived the war and served in the post-war Marina Militare. Decommissioned 1959.[7]
Libra LB CNQ, Fiume[e] 19 January 1939 Assisted her sister ship Lupo in the Attack on Convoy AN 14 on the night of 31 January 1941 in the Kasos Strait.[22] Survived the war and served in the post war Marina Militare. Decommissioned 1964.[7]
Lince LC CNQ, Fiume[e] 1 April 1938 Along with Lupo, she landed troops during Operation Abstention, the re-conquest of Kastelorizo, in February 1941. Grounded and later torpedoed and destroyed on 28 August 1943 by submarine HMS Ultor.[7]
Lira LR CNQ, Fiume[e] 1 January 1938 Scuttled 9 September 1943, recovered by the Germans, and served as TA49, sunk by bombing 4 November 1944.[7]
Lupo LP/LU[f] CNQ, Fiume[e] 28 February 1938 Along with Libra, torpedoed the British tanker Desmoulea (8120 tn) in the Kasos straits on 31 January 1941 at the position 35°33′32″N 25°34′14″E / 35.55889°N 25.57056°E / 35.55889; 25.57056 disabling her for the rest of the war.[22][23] The tanker was part of Convoy AN 14 and had departed Alexandria for Piraeus.[24] Captained by Francesco Mimbelli during Operation Abstention, the reconquest of Kastelorizo, and the Battle of Crete, where she survived a battle against three cruisers and five destroyers, saving half of a small ships convoy. Sunk 2 December 1942 by destroyers HMS Jervis, Javelin, Janus and Kelvin and torpedo bombers while picking up survivors from the Italian cargo ship Veloce, en route to Tripoli. Two other steamers, part of the same convoy, eventually reached home.
Pallade PD BSN, Naples[a] 5 October 1938 Sunk 5 August 1943 by air attack in Naples.[7]
Partenope PN BSN, Naples[a] 26 November 1938 Shot down two Blenheim bombers while escorting a two-steamer convoy from Tripoli to Benghazi on 11 July 1941; damaged by a mine, off Preveza on 26 July 1943. Scuttled in dry dock at Naples Four days of Naples on 11 September 1943 when German forces occupied the city.[7]
Perseo PS CNQ, Fiume[e] 1 February 1936 Sunk 4 May 1943 off Cape Bon by HMS Nubian, HMS Petard and HMS Paladin, in the Battle of the Campobasso Convoy escorting the freighter Campobasso, also sunk in this action. Another one-ship convoy, escorted by the Ciclone-class torpedo boat Tifone, witnesses the destruction of Perseo and Campobasso but was able to outrun the British destroyers and reached Tunis.
Pleiadi PL BSN, Naples[a] 4 July 1938 Wrecked on 31 May 1941 outside Tripoli harbour after a fire onboard, definitively lost on 14 October 1941 to airstrike while in the process of being refloated.[25][7]
Polluce PC BSN, Naples[a] 8 August 1938 Sank submarine HMS Grampus in June 1940, in company with Circe, Clio and Calliope. Sunk by torpedo bombers, 4 September 1942.[7]
Sagittario SG CNQ, Fiume[e] 8 October 1936 Defended a German convoy of caïques during the Battle of Crete against a British squadron of three cruisers and four destroyers, inflicting minor damage to the destroyer HMS Kingston, according to Italian claims.[26][27] Sank British MTB 639 off Tunis, on 28 April 1943 whilst escorting a steamer off Kelibia. Survived the war and served in the post war Marina Militare. Decommissioned 1964.[7]
Sirio SI CNQ, Fiume[e] 1 March 1936 She was the first Italian unit to spot the enemy in the battle of Cape Spartivento,[28] and on 16 February 1943, Sirio led the escort of a four-ship convoy that detected by sonar and fought off the Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) MTB-77, MTB-82 and MTB-62 south of Marettimo.[29][30] Survived the war and served in the post war Marina Militare. Decommissioned 1959.[7]
Spica SP BSN, Naples[a] 30 May 1935 Sold to Sweden as HSwMS Romulus in 1940.[7] Decommissioned 1958.
Vega VG CNQ, Fiume[e] 12 October 1936 Shot down a Swordfish torpedo bomber from Illustrious off Sfax on 21 December 1940[g], after two steamers she was escorting were torpedoed and lost.[31] Sunk by destroyer HMS Hereward 10 January 1941 in the strait of Sicily while attempting to ambush a British convoy to Malta.[7]

Notes to table

  1. ^ a b c d e f Bacini e Scali Napoletani, Naples
  2. ^ a b Cantieri del Tirreno, Riva Trigoso
  3. ^ a b c d Cantieri Navali Riuniti, Ancona
  4. ^ Also claimed to Vega, that was escorting a small convoy further south attacked by nine aircraft
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Cantieri Navali del Quarnaro, Fiume
  6. ^ Relettered LU in 1938
  7. ^ Also claimed to Clio, that protected a convoy against a single-aircraft attack further north.

See also

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b Fraccaroli 1968, p. 81.
  2. ^ Greentree 2016, p. 75.
  3. ^ Fraccaroli 1968, pp. 81–85.
  4. ^ O'Hara 2009, p. 61.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Fraccaroli 1968, p. 83.
  6. ^ a b c Greentree 2016, p. 55.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Fraccaroli 1968, p. 85.
  8. ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 53.
  9. ^ O'Hara 2009, pp. 203–204.
  10. ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 44.
  11. ^ Greentree 2016, p. 51.
  12. ^ "R. Torpediniera Calliope". digilander.libero.it/carandin. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  13. ^ a b Sadkovich 1994, p. 326.
  14. ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 135.
  15. ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 253.
  16. ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 71; Shores, Cull & Malizia 1987, p. 223.
  17. ^ Woodman 2000, p. 113.
  18. ^ Greentree 2016, pp. 50, 53, 60, 58–59.
  19. ^ Shores, Cull & Malizia 1991, pp. 522–524.
  20. ^ a b Cull, Malizia & Shores 1999, p. 99.
  21. ^ Giorgerini 2002, p. 456.
  22. ^ a b Biagini & Frattolillo 1989, p. 233.
  23. ^ Mattesini 1998, p. 25.
  24. ^ Jordan 2006, p. 519.
  25. ^ Andò & Bagnasco 1976, p. 97.
  26. ^ Green & Massignani 1998, p. 170.
  27. ^ Roberti 1977, p. 123.
  28. ^ Green & Massignani 1998, p. 117.
  29. ^ Sadkovich 1994, p. 323.
  30. ^ Giorgerini 2001, p. 550.
  31. ^ Sadkovich 1994, p. 108.

Bibliography

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  • Andò, Elio; Bagnasco, Erminio (1976). La guerra navale in Mediterraneo [The Naval War in the Mediterranean]. Milano: Intergest. OCLC 800072688.
  • Biagini, Antonello; Frattolillo, Fernando (1989). Diario storico del Comando Supremo: 1.1.1941 – 30.4.1941 [Historical Diary of the Supreme Command] (in Italian). Rome: Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare. OCLC 885562556.
  • Cull, Brian; Malizia, Nicola; Shores, Christopher (1999). Malta: The Hurricane Years. Grub Street. ISBN 978-0-94-881706-9.
  • Fraccaroli, Aldo (1968). Italian Warships of World War II. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 464456943.
  • Giorgerini, Giorgio (2001). La guerra italiana sul mare. La Marina tra vittoria e sconfitta 1940–1943 (in Italian). Mondadori. ISBN 978-8-80-440581-8.
  • Giorgerini, Giorgio (2002). La guerra italiana sul mare. La Marina tra vittoria e sconfitta 1940–1943 [The Italian War at Sea: The Navy between Victory and Defeat 1940–1943] (in Italian). Milano: Mondadori. ISBN 978-8-80-450150-3.
  • Green, Jack; Massignani, Alessandro (1998). The Naval War in the Mediterranean, 1940–1943. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-88-511961-2.
  • Greentree, David (2016). British Submarine vs. Italian Torpedo Boat, Mediterranean 1940–43. Duel (No.74) (ePub repr. Bloomsbury, London ed.). Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-4728-1414-2.
  • H.M. Ships Damaged or Sunk by Enemy Action, 1939–1945. Britain: Admiralty. 1952. OCLC 220864603.
  • Jordan, Roger W. (2006) [1999]. The World's Merchant Fleets 1939: The Particulars and Wartime Fates of 6,000 Ships (2nd ed.). London: Chatham/Lionel Leventhal. ISBN 978-1-86176-293-1.
  • Mattesini, Francesco (1998). L'operazione Gaudo e lo scontro notturno di Matapan [Operation Gaudo and the Night Clash of Matapan] (in Italian). Rome: Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare. OCLC 45375070.
  • O'Hara, Vincent P. (2009). Struggle for the Middle Sea: The Great Navies at War in the Mediterranean Theater, 1940–1945. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-648-3.
  • Roberti, Vero (1977). Uno contro sei: Il contributo della Marina italiana alla conquista di Creta [One Against Six: The Contribution of the Italian Navy to the Conquest of Crete] (in Italian). Milano: Mursia. OCLC 4777680.
  • Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (2005) [1972]. Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (3rd rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-257-7.
  • Sadkovich, James (1994). The Italian Navy in World War II. Westport: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-28797-X.
  • Shores, Christopher; Cull, Brian; Malizia, Nicola (1987). Air War For Yugoslavia, Greece, and Crete 1940–41. London: Grub Street. ISBN 0-948817-07-0.
  • Shores, Christopher; Cull, Brian; Malizia, Nicola (1991). Malta: The Spitfire Year 1942. London: Grub Street. ISBN 0-948817-16-X.
  • Woodman, Richard (2000). Malta Convoys, 1940–1943. London: Jack Murray. ISBN 0-7195-5753-4.

Further reading

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  • Birchfield, B.; Borgenstam, Carl; Caruana, Joseph & Frampton, Viktor (1988). "Question 3/87". Warship International. XXV (2): 205–210. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Brown, David (2002). The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean: November 1940 – December 1941. Whitehall Histories. Vol. II. London: Whitehall History in association with Frank Cass. ISBN 0-7146-5205-9.
  • Fioravanzo; Pollina; Ricciardi; Gnifetti (1971). I cacciatorpediniere italiani, 1900–1971 [The Italian Destroyers, 1900–1971]. Le navi d'Italia (in Italian). Vol. V. Roma: Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare. OCLC 249182201.
  • Naval Operations in the Battle of Crete (BR 1732 (2) Battle Summary No. 4. Naval Staff History. London: Admiralty Historical Section (HMSO). 1960. OCLC 224008525.
  • Pack, S.W.C. (1973). The Battle for Crete. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-810-7.
  • Roskill, S. W. (1957) [1954]. Butler, J. R. M. (ed.). War at Sea. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Vol. I (4th ed.). London: HMSO. OCLC 881709135. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  • Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War II: An International Encyclopedia. London: Cassell. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.
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