SHORT BACKGROUND STORY :This missile carrying torpedoboat entered active service in the mid 70´s with her eleven sisterships and has ever since then, been the backbone of the swedish naval defence forces,guarding the nations waters & coastlines 24h / day,365 days / year for more than 30 some years now.
The s.c "Spica II" series was a direct development from the original "Spica" series ( more about those ships, click on the link T121 Spica on page Länkar ), with slightly longer and slightly different shaped hull,enableing the ship to be fitted with a missile system.All the experience gained from the first "Spica" series of ships,was carefully taken under consideration when projecting / designing the "Spica II".Amongst the very first things noted was the disposition of the crew´s quarters i.e, changes were made on the entire layout below deck to offer better accomodations.
Weapons & radarsystems was also modernized,navigational systems heavily updated..in all,though the basics of the first series of ships was kept,the predecessors are infact of an entirely new design.
TODAY THEN : On the 8th July 2005 the two very last ships in the "Spica II" class, R 131 Norrköping and R 142 Ystad, was retired from active service and the howl from the gasturbine powered ships will echo away over the seas into history as an era comes to an end.
We believe that R 142 Ystad is worth saving for the future, not just because she happens to be the very last of the second Spica series,but she also represents a milestone in shipbuilding techology,powering a further streched development of the original Spica series in a way that the world had never seen before or thought possible for that matter.
Her design and most of all,her firepower & speed had never been,or will for that matter, never be seen on any other ship in her size throughout the world.
Furthermore,we belive that saving this "ol´lady" from the scrapheap,will honor not only all the people who has served on any of them,but it will also honor a vital part of swedish industrial technology,"know-how" and ability to think and design in new directions.And to give the general public a wiew into what life was all about on these ships and offer tours & rides with her for those that might be interested.
R 142 along with her "mother",the T-121 Spica and the boats before her that are kept in nearby mint condition to honor a naval era and all the people involved with any of them somehow throughout the history ,are worth saving and preserving for future generations to come..
FINALLY THEN : Have you served on any of the 12 Spica II series ships,are you a skilled electrican,engineer,chef,or just plain interested in the technolgy that this ship has to offer or are you just intrested in everything that floats on water...then this project has your name written on it! How to be a member
Let´s not let the loud howl from the gasturbines echo away into history...let´s keep them proudly howling into the future...