As part of efforts to strengthen the Navy, in 1941, four ships of the Visby class—an improved version of the Göteborg class—were ordered. The lead ship of the series, Visby, was built at the Götaverken shipyard in Gothenburg, launched in October 1942, and entered service in August 1943. After a long and quiet service, in the early 1960s, destroyers of this class were converted into anti-submarine frigates. The ships received helipads and rocket-assisted bomb throwers.