Welcome to the T121 Spica page

The torpedo boat T121 Spica is a living item of Swedish naval history. When first taken into service during the late 1960’s, she had an epoch-making design that made the introduction to the surface-attack systems of today.

She was equipped with advanced electronics and NBC Defence (NBC = Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical) and a propulsive machinery with three powerful gas turbine engines. Together with her five sister ships she was a vital ingredient in the Swedish national defence during the years of the cold war.

This very Spica made her last service period during a mobilization exercise in 1987. After being discarded in 1989, she was taken over by the Naval Museum in Karlskrona that was her home port until 2002. As a matter of curiosity it is worth mentioning that on this type of ship His Majesty the King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, in the summer of 1967 (when he was still a crown prince) served as an Officer Cadet and later as a Second Lieutenant.

Today the Spica is owned by a foundation called “Stiftelsen T121 Spica - ett levande museifartyg” (“The Foundation T121 SPICA – a living museum ship”). Members of the association called “T121 SPICA Vänner” (“The T121 SPICA Friends”) support that foundation and have the mission to restore and maintain the ship. Today still many hours of work remain before the Spica can use her own machinery again, but the overall goal is to get her “operationally running” and to present her as the milestone in the progress of surface attack ships that she actually was in the good old days. We are proud of being part of that mission!

Welcome on board!