Return to the Scire Submarine 2008 Archaeological Survey Expedition

Right: >The Scire

The Italian Royal Submarine Scirè is one of the most famous naval vessels in the world. It entered into history in 1942 during WWII. On the 10th of August it was getting ready to attack the port of Haifa which at that time was under British control. Eleven commandos, “Gamma Men” as they were known at the time, were aboard and their hope was to repeat previous successes at Gibraltar. However, when the Scirè arrived at Haifa, all hell broke loose: the coastal artillery, aircraft and ships seemed to be expecting her and after a merciless chase, the Scirè was sunk with her commander Bruno Zelik and all the sailors and the raiders aboard. It has always been thought that the British knew about the raid in advance and recent research by our group has found proof of this in the World War II archives of Bletchley Park and Kew (West London).

Divers survey the Scire. (Fabio Ruberti & Yurek Lewandowski)

After a long period of oblivion, in 1984 the wreck was the subject of an Italian Navy expedition tasked with recovering the remains of the Scirè’s sailors and commandos. Israeli underwater archaeologist Ehud Galili was part of that team and was the first to re-discover her. This expedition was followed by a second in 2001. Since then, the wreck has been visited only occasionally by Israeli divers but very rarely by Italians. In September we, under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting in the interests of international cultural promotion and cooperation, organized and conducted an expedition on this important shipwreck. The goals of the expedition were both archaeological and scientific. Primarily the aim was to conduct a survey of the site and assess the condition of the wreck.

Right: Divers at the tower of the submarine. (Fabio Ruberti & Yurek Lewandowski)

The expedition was composed of three teams who had specific daily diving objectives: measuring and surveying the site, conducting external reconnaissance, assessing particularly interesting finds and producing a full video and photographic record of the wreck. The team used advanced diving techniques and the most sophisticated equipment available.

Carrying out an underwater expedition of an archaeological and scientific nature on a submarine wreck of such historical value as the Scirè is an important event with potential for future development. It also serves to increase public awareness of this key period of history. A wreath was placed on the wreck in memory of the fallen sailors, an event followed with great interest by the Israeli Broadcast Authority.

The divers involved with the project. (Fabio Ruberti & Yurek Lewandowski)

Following the expedition Professor Galili donated to The Naval Museum of La Spezia (Italy) a fin and a oxygen rebreather recovered from the Scirè during one of his original dives.

Click on the SLIDESHOW tab above to see more pictures from the expedition.

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