From the forecastle and astern, a long superstructure appeared, which made it possible for the crew to reach the entire ship without having to go outdoors, thus minimizing the risk of exposure to radioactive contamination.

Two Penhoët boilers delivered steam with a pressure of 40 bar and the temperature of 420 degrees to two de Laval turbines.

Småland was built at Eriksbergs Mekaniska Verkstad in Gothenburg and was launched on 23 October 1952 when she was christened by Admiral Helge Strömbäck.

[4] After extensive work on equipment and installation of all components, the ship was delivered to the Swedish Navy on 12 January 1956.

When the cruisers HSwMS Tre Kronor and HSwMS Göta Lejon were scrapped in the early 1970s, the ships of the Halland-class were the largest and most powerful vessels in the Swedish Navy, and later they became the leader ships for each their destroyer flotilla.