Scirè (SR)
Scirè

Type	Coastal / Sea going
Class	Adua (23)
Laid down	30 Jan 1937	Odero-Terni-Orlando, Muggiano
Launched	6 Jan 1938
Commissioned	25 Apr 1938
End service
Stricken
Loss date	10 Aug 1942
Loss position	33° 11'N, 34° 55'E
History
Fate	Sunk on 10th August 1942 in 33°11'N, 34°55'E (off Haifa) by depth charges from armed trawler HMT Islay.

Commands

Commander	Date from	Date to	Command notes
T.V. Riccardo Lesca	17 Oct 1938	23 Jun 1940
T.V. Adriano Pini	24 Jun 1940	11 Sep 1940
T.V. Antonio Ursano	3 Sep 1940	5 Sep 1940
C.C. Junio Valerio Borghese	11 Sep 1940	29 Dec 1940
T.V. Antonio Ursano	29 Dec 1940	15 Feb 1941
T.V. Teucle Meneghini	2 Feb 1941	5 Feb 1941
C.C. Junio Valerio Borghese	15 Feb 1941	28 May 1942
C.C. Bruno Zelik	24 May 1942	10 Aug 1942

Ships hit

	Date	Commander	Ship hit	Type	GRT	Nat.	Loss type
1.	10 Jul 1940	T.V. Adriano Pini	Cheik	Cargo ship	1,057		Sunk
2.	20 Sep 1941	C.C. Junio Valerio Borghese	Fiona Shell	Oiling hulk	2,444		Sunk
3.	21 Sep 1941	C.C. Junio Valerio Borghese	Denbydale	Tanker	8,145		Damaged
4.	22 Sep 1941	C.C. Junio Valerio Borghese	Durham	Cargo ship	10,893		Damaged
5.	18 Dec 1941	C.F. Junio Valerio Borghese	HMS Valiant	Battleship	31,100		Damaged
6.	18 Dec 1941	C.F. Junio Valerio Borghese	HMS Jervis	Destroyer	1,695		Damaged
7.	19 Dec 1941	C.F. Junio Valerio Borghese	HMS Queen Elizabeth	Battleship	32,700		Damaged
8.	20 Dec 1941	C.F. Junio Valerio Borghese	Sagona	Tanker	7,554		Damaged

Patrols and events

	Commander	Date	Time	Port	Arr. date	Arr. time	Arr. port	Miles	Description
	Lesca, Riccardo	10 Jun 1940		La Spezia	10 Jun 1940		La Spezia		At La Spezia.
	Lesca, Riccardo	14 Jun 1940	0720	La Spezia	14 Jun 1940	1400	La Spezia	48	Exercises.
1	Lesca, Riccardo	14 Jun 1940	2100	La Spezia	19 Jun 1940	0835	La Spezia	245,5	Patrolled 125° - Cape Noli - 10 miles, between Cape Noli and Cape dell'Arma (French border), to attack traffic coming from Toulon.
	Pini, Adriano	26 Jun 1940	0734	La Spezia	26 Jun 1940	1500	La Spezia	49	Exercises.
	Pini, Adriano	26 Jun 1940	2235	La Spezia	27 Jun 1940	2035	La Maddalena	214	Passage La Spezia-La Maddalena with Argo and Neghelli.
2	Pini, Adriano	3 Jul 1940	1412	La Spezia	6 Jul 1940	2050	La Maddalena	550	Sailed with Neghelli and Diaspro and patrolled in 37°31'N, 08°25'E or 310º - 110 miles from Asinara Point. Uneventful.
3	Pini, Adriano	10 Jul 1940	0030	La Maddalena	12 Jul 1940	0500	La Maddalena	215	Sailed for patrol with Argo, Iride and Diaspro initially 310° - Punta Scorno - 80 miles then 310° - Asinara Point - 54 miles.
		10 Jul 1940	1610	(0) West of Corsica.	At 1610 hours, a vessel was sighted at a distance of 16,000 metres on a southerly course at 10 knots. At 1659 hours, Scirè had closed enough to recognise it as a 6,000-ton French ship but without being able to read the name and the attack was aborted.
		10 Jul 1940	2030 1930 (e)	41° 40'N, 7° 23'E (0) 310° - Asinara Point - 54 miles (west of Corsica).	At 2000 hours, a vessel was sighted at a distance of 7,000 metres on a southerly course. As she appeared armed and her flag could not be determined, T.V. Adriano Pini decided to attack. At 2030 hours, a single torpedo (533mm) was fired from a stern tube at a distance of 600 metres. The torpedo struck the ship amidship and she sank immediately. This was the French Cheik (1,057 GRT, built 1920) on passage from Marseilles to Algiers carrying 1,150 tons of cement. At 2033 hours, the submarine surfaced and picked up ten survivors, including Lieutenant Lenci, the only surviving officer of a crew of twenty-three. In 1945, the French Government wanted to prosecute T.V. Pini for war crimes as he had sunk the French ship without warning after the Italo-French Armistice. The British government opposed the motion as it was felt that its own submarines had also sunk merchant ships without warning and the case would be weak. Nevertheless, the attack by Scirè on a vessel in an area where most those encountered would likely be French or Italian left little doubt that Pini should have been more careful in choosing his targets.
4	Pini, Adriano	31 Jul 1940	2230	La Maddalena	1 Aug 1940	1512	Cagliari	167	Sailed with Argo and Neghelli with brief stop at Cagliari to pick up her sailing orders before proceeding for patrol.
4b	Pini, Adriano	1 Aug 1940	1535	Cagliari	11 Aug 1940	1055	La Maddalena	1228	Patrolled south of Balearic Islands in 37°20'N, 06°00'E and 06;20'E, on a patrol line with Argo and Neghelli. Uneventful.
	Ursano, Antonio	3 Sep 1940	1845	La Maddalena	4 Sep 1940	1415	La Spezia	205	Passage La Maddalena-La Spezia.
	Pini, Adriano	6 Sep 1940	1250	La Spezia	6 Sep 1940	1810	La Spezia	23,2	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	17 Sep 1940	0800	La Spezia	17 Sep 1940	1500	La Spezia	18,5	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	19 Sep 1940	0740	La Spezia	19 Sep 1940	1750	La Spezia	36	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	20 Sep 1940	0715	La Spezia	20 Sep 1940	1830	La Spezia	61,5	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	21 Sep 1940	0820	La Spezia	21 Sep 1940	1238	La Spezia	25	Exercises.
5	Borghese, Junio Valerio	24 Sep 1940	0540	La Spezia	3 Oct 1940	1215	La Maddalena	1646	Sailed with human torpedoes to attack Gibraltar, but was recalled 50 miles short of her objective when it was learned that Force H had sailed. The teams were T.V. Gino Birindelli/2° C.Pal. Damos Paccagnini, Cap. G.N. Teseo Tesei/Sg. Pal. Alcide Pedretti and S.T.V. Luigi Durand de la Penne/2° C.Pal. Emilio Bianchi plus in reserve: Ten. G.N. Gian Gastone Bertozzi/2° C. Pal. Enrico Ario Lazzari.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	8 Oct 1940	1430	La Maddalena	9 Oct 1940	0845	La Spezia	207	Passage La Maddalena-La Spezia.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	19 Oct 1940	1500	La Spezia	19 Oct 1940	1755	La Spezia	25	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	20 Oct 1940	0924	La Spezia	20 Oct 1940	1205	La Spezia	3	Exercises.
6	Borghese, Junio Valerio	21 Oct 1940	0515	La Spezia	3 Nov 1940	1930	La Spezia	2057	Operated off Gibraltar (Operation BG 2). Launched three human torpedoes (she carried eight operators, two of them in reserve). Borghese received the Medaglia D'Oro al Valor Militare.
		27 Oct 1940	0210	(0) Off Almina Point.	At 0210 hours, a destroyer was sighted astern at a distance of 800 metres, apparently proceeding from Europa Point to Almina Point at slow speed. The submarine crash-dived.
		27 Oct 1940	2345	(0) Off Almina Point.	At 2345 hours, a destroyer was sighted steering 080° at high speed. The submarine crash-dived.
		28 Oct 1940	0000-0600	(0) Off Almina Point.	During the night, four destroyers were sighted on an A/S hunt. The submarine managed to escape by stopping all motors and letting herself drift with NE current.
		29 Oct 1940	0245-2035	(0) Off Gibraltar.	At 0245 hours, with batteries fully charged and air completely replenished, the submarine submerged and proceeded to enter the Straits of Gibraltar at 3,5 knots at a depth of 70 metres. At 0410 hours, a destroyer passed exactly above the submarine, her propellers quite audible to the submariners' ears. At 2035 hours, the submarine surfaced and proceeded on electric motors toward Gibraltar.
		30 Oct 1940	0121-0239	(0) Gibraltar.	At 0121 hours, the submarine reached the point established in the plan, and bottomed in 10 metres, 350 metres from the Spanish coast. The SLC operators began to prepare for the exit. At 0219 hours, the submarine surfaced. Three minutes later, the six operators and the two reserve operators and their assistants (T.G.N. Gastone Bertozzi and Sergente Palombaro Ario Lazzari) exited and the submarine submerged again. At 0239 hours, outside noises made it clear that the three SLCs had left. At 0257 hours, Scirè surfaced and recovered the two reserve operators. The submarine began the return trip. Breathing was becoming difficult and on three occasion she had to surface to regenerate the air but she reached La Spezia without further difficulties. The SLC attack failed. Only one torpedo (T.V. Gino Birindelli/2° Capo Palombaro Damos Paccagnini) managed to enter Gibraltar. The torpedo failed them when they were closing on the battleship HMS Barham. At 0705 hours, Birindelli was captured on the commercial mole and Paccagnini was picked up by armed the trawler HMT Empyrean. Their torpedo exploded at 0817 hours on the 30th, but caused no damage. The other two pairs, manned by Capitano G.N. Teseo Tesei/Sergente Palomboro Alcide Pedretti and by S.T.V. Luigi Durand de La Penne/2° Capo Palombaro Emilio Bianchi, were plagued by defects. They failed to penetrate the base and escaped to Spain.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	9 Dec 1940	0942	La Spezia	9 Dec 1940	1633	La Spezia	51	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	15 Dec 1940	1430	La Spezia	16 Dec 1940	1615	La Spezia	82	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	17 Dec 1940	0920	La Spezia	18 Dec 1940	1630	La Spezia	86	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	26 Jan 1941	0936	La Spezia	26 Jan 1941	1343	La Spezia	29	Exercises.
7	Meneghini, Teucle	2 Feb 1941	2152	La Spezia	5 Feb 1941	1307	La Spezia	236	Patrolled off French coast, from 43°40'N, 09°00'E searching 20 miles south and 20 miles on 240°. Sighted only a small vessel proceeding from Cape Corse to Hyères Island.
	Ursano, Antonio	7 Feb 1941	1237	La Spezia	7 Feb 1941	1645	La Spezia	33	Exercises, escorted by the torpedo boat La Masa.
	Ursano, Antonio	11 Feb 1941	1314	La Spezia	11 Feb 1941	1520	La Spezia	5	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	20 Feb 1941	1003	La Spezia	20 Feb 1941	1200	La Spezia	7	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	22 Feb 1941	1500	La Spezia	22 Feb 1941	1647	La Spezia	5	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	7 Apr 1941	0921	La Spezia	7 Apr 1941	1510	La Spezia	9,1	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	8 Apr 1941	0920	La Spezia	8 Apr 1941	1540	La Spezia	32	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	9 Apr 1941	0925	La Spezia	9 Apr 1941	1442	La Spezia	4	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	11 Apr 1941	0818	La Spezia	11 Apr 1941	1722	La Spezia	56	Exercises, escorted by the auxiliaries Crotone and Capodistria and tug 55.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	12 Apr 1941	0809	La Spezia	12 Apr 1941	1355	La Spezia	5	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	16 Apr 1941	0910	La Spezia	16 Apr 1941	1845	La Spezia	28	Exercises with the tug Favignana.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	18 Apr 1941	0845	La Spezia	18 Apr 1941	1133	La Spezia	6	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	22 Apr 1941	0805	La Spezia	22 Apr 1941	1837	La Spezia	62	Exercises with midget submarine CB 1 and the tugs Torre Annunziata, Capodistria and Crotone.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	23 Apr 1941	0710	La Spezia	23 Apr 1941	1720	La Spezia	66	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	5 May 1941	1045	La Spezia	5 May 1941	1455	La Spezia	2	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	5 May 1941	1930	La Spezia	6 May 1941	0808	La Spezia	1	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	6 May 1941	1134	La Spezia	6 May 1941	1425	La Spezia	2	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	6 May 1941	2016	La Spezia	7 May 1941	0742	La Spezia	2	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	8 May 1941	1410	La Spezia	8 May 1941	1945	La Spezia	19	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	9 May 1941	1100	La Spezia	9 May 1941	1505	La Spezia	2	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	9 May 1941	2005	La Spezia	10 May 1941	0808	La Spezia	8	Exercises.
8	Borghese, Junio Valerio	15 May 1941	2000	La Spezia	23 May 1941	2345	Cadiz		Sailed and crossed the Gibraltar Straits on 22nd May, to collect a Decima X.Mas team at Cadiz, from the supply ship Fulgor, to attack Gibraltar (Operation BG 3). The team consisted of nine men: T.V. Catalano, Sottocapo palombaro (diver) Giannoni, T.V. Vesco, palombaro Franchi, S,T.V. Visintini, Sottocapo palombaro Magro, Tenente G.N. Marceglia, Sottocapo palombaro Schergat, Capitano medico Falconata.
		23 May 1941	2345-0430/24	(0) Cadiz harbour.	At 2300 hours, Scirè secretly entered the harbour of Cadiz and at 2345 hours came alongside the supply ship Fulgor (known as Base "C") to collect nine divers of the Decima Flottiglia Mas. They had been flown to Spain on 14th May 1941. They were: T.V. Decio Catalano Sottocapo Palombaro (diver) Giuseppe Giannoni T.V. Amedeo Vesco Palombaro Amelio Franchi S.T.V. Licio Visentini Sottocapo Palombaro Giovanni Magro Tenente G.N. Antonio Marceglia Sottocapo Palombaro Spartaco Schergat Capitano Medico Bruno Falconata.
8b	Borghese, Junio Valerio	24 May 1941	0430	Cadiz	31 May 1941	1855	La Spezia	2111	Sailed with nine members of Decima Flottiglia Mas. Operated off Gibraltar and sent human torpedo attacks (Operation B.G. 3). The team members are T.V. Decio Catalano and S.C. Pal. Giuseppe Giannoni, T.V. Amedeo Vescoand, S.C. Pal. Amelio Franchi and S.T.V. Licio Visintini and S.C. Pal. Giovanni Magro. In reserve: Ten. G.N. Antonio Marceglia and S.C. Pal. Spartaco Schergat [mileage is for round trip].
		26 May 1941	2358	(0) Off Gibraltar.	At 2320 hours, Scirè had bottomed in 10 metres of water and the SLC operators began their preparations. At 2330 hours, to the great disappointment of the operators, a signal from SUPERMARINA arrived informing them that the targets were no longer in port. The battlecruiser HMS Renown and the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal had sailed on 24th May to hunt the Bismarck. At 2358 hours, the submarine surfaced, the operators exited and, two minutes later the submarine submerged to enable the departure of the SLCs. At 0037 hours, the submarine surfaced to recover the two reserve operators and steered for La Spezia. The operation failed again. The SLC piloted by Vesco broke down and had to be sunk. Soon after, that of Marceglia also had to be abandoned. Only Visintini attempted to attach his two charges to a tanker, but his maiale sank and the attempt was abandoned. The six men swam to the shore and were assisted by the local Italian organization. They soon rejoined Italy.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	8 Jul 1941	0855	La Spezia	8 Jul 1941	1300	La Spezia	4	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	14 Jul 1941	0720	La Spezia	14 Jul 1941	1937	La Spezia	23,5	Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Torre Annunziata.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	16 Jul 1941	0817	La Spezia	16 Jul 1941	1332	La Spezia	2	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	13 Aug 1941	0840	La Spezia	13 Aug 1941	1748	La Spezia	28	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	22 Aug 1941	1453	La Spezia	23 Aug 1941	1255	La Spezia	57	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	1 Sep 1941	1224	La Spezia	1 Sep 1941	1552	La Spezia	2	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	1 Sep 1941	2019	La Spezia	2 Sep 1941	0015	La Spezia	11	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	9 Sep 1941	1141	La Spezia	9 Sep 1941	1516	La Spezia	4	Exercises.
		9 Sep 1941	2335	(0) Off S. Bartolomeo.	At 2335 hours, a defective SLC was launched to be repaired.
9	Borghese, Junio Valerio	9 Sep 1941	2250	La Spezia	10 Sep 1941	0015	La Spezia	2	Sailed for mission, but turned back because of a defective S.L.C., which was launched off S. Bartolomeo to be repaired.
		9 Sep 1941	2335	(0) Off S. Bartolomeo.	At 2335 hours, a defective SLC was launched to be repaired.
		10 Sep 1941	1748	(0) Off La Spezia breakwater.	At 1748 hours, Scirè stopped to recover the repaired SLC.
9b	Borghese, Junio Valerio	10 Sep 1941	1730	La Spezia	17 Sep 1941	2338	Cadiz		Passage to Cadiz, to pick up the Decima Flottiglia MAS operators from the supply ship Fulgor to attack Gibraltar (Operation BG.4). Several neutral vessels were sighted.
		10 Sep 1941	1748	(0) Off La Spezia breakwater.	At 1748 hours, Scirè stopped to recover the repaired SLC.
		17 Sep 1941	2338	(0) Cadiz harbour.	At 2135 hours, Scirè surfaced and proceeded toward the entrance of Cadiz. At 2338 hours, she came alongside Fulgor and embarked the nine operators of the Decima Flottiglia Mas. They were: T.V. Decio Catalano Sottocapo Palombaro (diver) Giuseppe Giannoni T.V. Amedeo Vesco S.C. Palombaro Antonio Zozzoli T.V. Licio Visentini S.C. Palombaro Giovanni Magro Capitano G.N. Antonio Marceglia Palombaro Spartaco Schergat S.T. Medico Giorgio Spaccarelli At 0430 hours, Scirè sailed from Cadiz.
9c	Borghese, Junio Valerio	18 Sep 1941	0430	Cadiz	25 Sep 1941	2350	La Spezia	1994	Operated off Gibraltar and launched human torpedoes (Operation BG 4). Several neutral vessels were sighted [mileage is for round trip].
		20 Sep 1941	0030-0110	(0) Gibraltar.	At 0030 hours, Scirè surfaced for the operators to exit. At 0052 hours, Scirè submerged to 4.5 metres to allow the departure of the SLCs. At 0107 hours, the SLCs were heard on the hydrophones to leave. At 0110 hours, the submarine surfaced to recover the two reserve operators and steered for La Spezia. She was forced to dive by an enemy destroyer at 0637 hours on the 21st, but managed to evade it. The Vesco/Zozzoli team attacked the Fiona Shell (2,444 GRT, built 1892) who was sunk with one casualty: a Spanish stoker. The two men reached the shore and were released after being briefly arrested by the Spanish police. The Catalono/Giannoni attacked the Durham (10,893 GRT, built 1934) who had to be beached to prevent her from sinking. Visintini and Magro attacked the tanker Denbydale (8,145 GRT, built 1941) who was seriously damaged, all men reached the shore and were recovered. The explosions occurred at 0742 hours (Denbydale), 0816 hours (Fiona Shell) and 0817 hours (Durham). Following this attack, Borghese was promoted to Commander and the six men received the Medaglia d'Argento. On the afternoon of 8th October a Spanish diver recovered parts of a torpedo in position 346.5° - North Mole Light - 11 cables, a second one was recovered by Spanish divers on the morning of 13th October in 342° - North Mole Light - 12.6 miles. In a memo dated 12th November 1941, British Naval Intelligence raised the possibility that the attack had come from one of the two Italian ships at Algeciras as big boxes were loaded on one of them prior to the attack.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	5 Nov 1941	0910	La Spezia	5 Nov 1941	1612	La Spezia	57	Exercises.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	28 Nov 1941	0910	La Spezia	28 Nov 1941	1830	La Spezia	31	Exercises, escorted by La Masa.
	Borghese, Junio Valerio	2 Dec 1941	1010	La Spezia	2 Dec 1941	1430	La Spezia	3	Exercises.
10	Borghese, Junio Valerio	3 Dec 1941	1800	La Spezia	9 Dec 1941	2100	Leros (Porto Lago)		Passage La Spezia-Leros (Porto Lago) for special operation at Alexandria. She carried three SLCs (221, 222 and 223) and ten divers (including four reserve divers) and a medical doctor. The men were embarked at Leros.
		5 Dec 1941	2110	(0) Off Taormina (Sicily).	At 2110 hours, an enemy submarine was sighted at a distance of 6 miles. She answered her signals with a white light. She took a parallel course to Scirè at 2120 hours at a distance of 5,000 meters. The submarines HMS P 34 (later renamed Ultimatum), HMS Upright and HMS Unique were in the general area, but do not appear to have been involved, although they may have been stationed especially to hunt for U-boats.
		8 Dec 1941	1050 (IT) 1050 (e)		At 1050 hours, an enemy three-engine aircraft was sighted, which made a recognition signal. Scirè made a signal (green light) but was not answered. According to Admiral Cunningham's diaries, a RAF reconnaissance plane (possibly a Blenheim bomber of 203 Squadron, 201 Group) sighted the submarine at 1050 hours on the 9th (Scirè gives the same time but dates it as the 8th), correctly described it as similar to Gondar and apparently equipped with "one-man submarines".
10b	Borghese, Junio Valerio	14 Dec 1941	0700	Leros (Porto Lago)	21 Dec 1941	1900	Leros (Porto Lago)		Operated off Alexandria and launched human torpedoes (Operation G.A.3).
		18 Dec 1941	2047	(0) 356° - Ras El Tin Light - 1.3 mile	At 1840 hours, Scirè was at the bottom, in only 17 metres of water, in a position 356° - Ras El Tin - 1.3 mile. She then moved slightly southward. At 2047 hours, the submarine surfaced. The six operators and the two reservists came out. The sea was very calm. The submarine bottomed at 15 metres. At 2128 hours, the submarine surfaced to recover the two reservists Ten. D.M. Feltrinelli and S.T. Medico Spaccarelli (Medical Officer), but the latter was brought in unconscious, showing very serious symptoms of asphyxia. He was only revived at 0100 hours after vigorous artificial respiration attempts. At 2133 hours, the submarine submerged and steered for Leros. The three teams entered the harbour of Alexandria, assisted by the fact the boom was left opened for the return of the 15th Cruiser Squadron. Della Penne reported almost rammed by the leading destroyer of a group of three entering harbour. We know that HMS Sikh, HMS Maori, HMS Legion arrived at that time. They managed to sink their SLC next to the battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth (Capo G.N. Antonio Marceglia and Spartaco Schergat with SLC.223) and HMS Valiant (T.V. Luigi Durand della Penne and Capo 3rd class Emilio Bianchi with SLC.221) and the tanker Sagona (7,554 GRT, built 1929) (Capo A.N. Vincenzo Martellotta and Mario Marino with SLC.222). At 0547 hours, an explosion under the stern of the tanker Sagona seriously damaged her and the destroyer HMS Jervis' bow suffered damages from the same explosion. At 0606 hours, the battleship HMS Valiant suffered a massive explosion under her "A" turret and sank in shallow waters. At 0610 hours, the battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth [flagship of Admiral Cunningham) was rocked by an explosion in the boiler room and also sank in shallow waters. The six Italian divers were all captured. SUPERMARINA advised the submarine in its TG of 2115/20.12.1941 that Air Reconnaissance had reported the two battleships hit. This was revealed by the oil leaks around them.
10c	Borghese, Junio Valerio	23 Dec 1941	0800	Leros (Porto Lago)	29 Dec 1941	1100	La Spezia	3506	Return trip from special mission to Alexandria [mileage is for round trip].
		25 Dec 1941	1245 1240 (e)		At 1245 hours, a three-engine bomber in kaki colour was sighted and made an attack from the stern. Scirè opened fire with her machine-guns at a distance of 800 metres. The aircraft dropped five small bombs, which fell in a single line about 80 metres astern of the submarine and then flew away. This was Blenheim 'P' of 203 Squadron. It had sighted the submarine steering 270° at 6 knots. The bomber climbed to 1,800 feet before diving to the attack. The submarine's antiaircraft fire failed to inflict any damage. The aircraft actually dropped four 250lb A/S bombs, the closest of these fell 80 yards astern of the submarine.
	Zelik, Bruno	27 Jun 1942	0753	La Spezia	27 Jun 1942	1815	La Spezia	46	Exercises.
	Zelik, Bruno	30 Jun 1942	0815	La Spezia	30 Jun 1942	1755	La Spezia	16	Exercises.
	Zelik, Bruno	1 Jul 1942	0825	La Spezia	1 Jul 1942	1720	La Spezia		Exercises.
	Zelik, Bruno	6 Jul 1942	0830	La Spezia	6 Jul 1942	1135	La Spezia		Exercises.
	Zelik, Bruno	9 Jul 1942	0935	La Spezia	9 Jul 1942	1715	La Spezia		Exercises.
	Zelik, Bruno	10 Jul 1942	0839	La Spezia	10 Jul 1942	1435	La Spezia		Exercises.
	Zelik, Bruno	16 Jul 1942	0830	La Spezia	16 Jul 1942	1820	La Spezia		Exercises.
	Zelik, Bruno	24 Jul 1942	2315	La Spezia	24 Jul 1942	0230	La Spezia		Exercises.
11	Zelik, Bruno	27 Jul 1942	1830	La Spezia	2 Aug 1942	1920	Leros		Passage La Spezia-Leros. The sortie was known through ULTRA.
11b	Zelik, Bruno	6 Aug 1942	0752	Leros	10 Aug 1942	1610	Sunk with all hands		Mission to attack Haifa with human torpedoes (Operation S.L.1). She was sunk by the armed trawler HMT Islay.
		10 Aug 1942	1110 (e)		At 1110 hours, a Walrus (W.2789) of 700 Squadron, piloted by Sub Lieutenant R.A.J. Lea, sighted a submarine at half a mile. It was partially submerged, with only the conning tower and the wire cutters showing above the water. It appeared to be diving and steering 250°. The aircraft made an attack from the stern, releasing two depth charges from a height of 20 feet and set to a depth of 25 feet. They exploded about 30 yards ahead of the swirl, probably above the target. No result was observed. There is little doubt that the submarine was Scirè. British Intelligence had been informed of her passage to Leros as early as 30th July and was aware that the submarine had been involved in the special operation on Alexandria the previous December. Another special operation was to be expected to follow soon. Following this report, the motor launches ML 348 and ML 354 were dispatched from Beirut and the escort destroyer HMS Tetcott was detached to assist.
		10 Aug 1942	1545-1610 (e)	(e) 33° 11'N, 34° 55'E	At 1545 hours, the armed trawler HMT Islay sighted a submarine on the surface just off the Haifa swept channel. She attacked it with gunfire and depth charges. This was Scirè and she was sunk with all hands. C.C. Bruno Zelik, four officers, forty-four ratings and eleven passengers of the Decima Flottiglia Mas perished. Two bodies were washed ashore a few days later (Captain Egil Chersi, who was to be the leader of attack, and 2° Capo IEF (Petty Officer) Eugenio Del Ben. This may lead us to believe that the submarine was caught in the process of launching the attack or some men attempted to escape from her wreck. Why was she caught on the surface, in broad daylight, near an important enemy base is a mystery. Perhaps Scirè had developed defects or had suffered serious damage from the previous air attack which made it difficult to complete her mission and C.C. Zelik had decided to launch the attack in daylight. The eleven men of the Decima Flottiglia Mas were: 2° Capo Inf. Aurelio Morgan 2° Capo IEF Eugenio Del Ben Serg. Nocchiere Delfo Caprili Serg. Can. Lauro Manzoni Sotto Capo Can. Erminio Fioravanti Fuochista O. Luca Ricciardi Motorista Paolo Baronchelli Cap. Comm. Egil Chersi Serg. Pal. Rodolfo Beuck S.T. Medico Pietro Gnecco Fuochista Guido Fontebuoni The wreck was later located in 32°54.5' N, 34°58' E and examined by divers (depth of 32-34 meters), artifacts being recovered after the war. An attack by Maiali appeared to have been expected but the target appears to have mistakenly been considered as Beirut instead of Haifa and, CS.15 decided on 15th August.1942, to send HMS Aldenham to Beirut to reinforce the A/S defences. On 24th August 1942, examination of the wreck revealed that all three cylinders were empty (only frogmen were to be used). In 1984, the Italian rescue ship Antea recovered the remains of forty-two of the crew and passengers as well as some artifacts.

83 entries. 74 total patrol entries (11 marked as war patrols) and 21 events.

All Italian submarines

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