HSwMS Romulus (27) was the lead ship of her class of two destroyers that was purchased from the Royal Italian Navy in 1940 for the Royal Swedish Navy. She served during World War II and the first decades of the Cold War. The ship had been built as Spica during the 1930s.
Design and description The Romulus-class ships consisted of two purchased from the Royal Italian Navy in March 1940 that had been built in Italy as Spica and Astore.Westerlund, p. 372 The ships displaced at standard load and at deep load. They measured long overall with a beam of , and a draft of . The Romuluss were propelled by two Tosi geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam from a pair of Yarrow boilers. The turbines were designed to produce a total of for an intended maximum speed of . The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of at . The ships' crew numbered 99.Hofsten, Waernberg & Ohlsson, p. 157
The main armament of the Romulus class consisted of three dual-purpose guns in single mounts. One gun was located at the forecastle and the others were in superfiring mounts at the stern. After modifications by the Royal Swedish Navy, their anti-aircraft defense was provided by three Breda AA guns in single mounts and a pair of M/31 heavy machine guns. The ships were equipped with four torpedo tubes in two rotating, twin-tube mounts located between the rear funnel and the stern gun. Two depth charge throwers were fitted and the ships could carry 28 mines.
Construction and career Spica was launched on 11 March 1934, the lead ship of her class of torpedo boats, and commissioned on 30 May 1935.Whitley, p. 251 In December 1939, a Swedish commission to Italy departed to investigate the possibility for Sweden to buy warships. This led to the acquisition of Spica and Astore and two Sella Class destroyers. On 14 April 1940, all four destroyers left La Spezia for Sweden. The journey was dramatic including the ships being impounded by United Kingdom on 20 June in the Faroe Islands, the Psilander affair. The British released her on 1 July and Romulus and entered service later that year after she were modified to suit Arctic conditions and with Swedish equipment. The ship was stricken from the navy list on 15 August 1958.
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References
External links Spica Marina Militare website