Scirè
| Country | Italy |
| Ship Class | Adua-class Submarine |
| Builder | Odero-Terni-Orlando, La Spezia, Italy |
| Laid Down | 30 Jan 1937 |
| Launched | 6 Jan 1938 |
| Commissioned | 25 Mar 1938 |
| Sunk | 10 Aug 1942 |
| Displacement | 709 tons standard; 880 tons submerged |
| Length | 197 feet |
| Beam | 21 feet |
| Draft | 15 feet |
| Machinery | Two diesel engines, two electric motors |
| Speed | 14 knots |
| Crew | 46 |
| Armament | 4x533mm forward torpedo tubes, 2x533mm aft torpedo tubes, 12 torpedoes, 1x100mm deck gun |
| Submerged Speed | 7.5 knots |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseCommissioned in 1938, Scirè was modified to carry three manned torpedoes during the war for special forces missions. The most famous exploit by manned torpedoes that she carried took place on 19 Dec 1941 when Luigi Durand de la Penne, Emilio Bianchi, Vincenzo Martellotta, Mario Marino, Antonio Marceglia, and Spartaco Schergat sank British battleships HMS Valiant and HMS Queen Elizabeth in Alexandria harbor in Egypt; although all six torpedo pilots were captured after the mission, removing the two battleships from service, albeit temporarily, gave the Italian Navy superiority in the Mediterranean Sea. On 10 Aug 1942, while carrying another squad of manned torpedoes to attack Haifa in British Palestine, she was sunk by British trawler Islay with depth charges.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia
Last Major Revision: Jul 2013
Submarine Scirè Interactive Map
Photographs
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Scirè Operational Timeline
| 30 Jan 1937 | The keel of submarine Scirè was laid down by Odero-Terni-Orlando in Muggiano, Lerici, La Spezia, Italy. |
| 6 Jan 1938 | Submarine Scirè was launched at La Spezia, Italy. |
| 25 Mar 1938 | Submarine Scirè entered Italian Navy service. |
| 10 Jul 1940 | Italian submarine Scirè sank French ship Cheik 54 miles northwest of Sicily, Italy. Cheik's crew was rescued by Scirè. |
| 24 Sep 1940 | Scirè departed La Spezia, Italy for Gibraltar with three manned torpedoes on board. |
| 29 Sep 1940 | While at sea, Scirè's mission to raid Gibraltar with manned torpedoes was canceled. |
| 21 Oct 1940 | Scirè departed La Spezia, Italy for Gibraltar with three manned torpedoes on board. |
| 29 Oct 1940 | Scirè launched three manned torpedoes into Gibraltar harbor. The mission was a failure as one of the torpedoes broke down and the crew of the two torpedoes aborted due to breathing equipment issues. |
| 27 May 1941 | Scirè launched three manned torpedoes into Gibraltar harbor; they failed to damage any enemy vessel. |
| 24 Jun 1941 | Scirè launched manned torpedoes into Grand Harbour, Malta; they failed to damage any enemy vessels. |
| 28 Jun 1941 | Scirè's mission to attack Grand Harbour, Malta was canceled. |
| 30 Jun 1941 | Scirè launched manned torpedoes into Grand Harbour, Malta; they failed to damage any enemy vessels. |
| 27 Jul 1941 | Italian manned torpedoes and motor torpedo boats attacked Grand Harbour, Malta, causing minor damage to British vessels and installations but nearly all Italian vessels were lost in the attack. Commander Vittorio Moccagatta was among the Italian fatalities. |
| 10 Sep 1941 | Scirè departed La Spezia, Italy for Gibraltar with three manned torpedoes on board. |
| 20 Sep 1941 | Scirè launched three manned torpedoes into Gibraltar harbor, which sank tanker Fiona Shell (killing 1), damaged tanker RFA Denbydale, and damaged freighter Durham. All six Italian personnel manning the three torpedoes swam to Spain and would eventually return to Italy as heroes. |
| 27 Jul 1942 | Scirè departed Italy for Operation SL 1 against British shipping in the harbor of Haifa, Palestine. |
| 10 Aug 1942 | British anti-submarine trawler HMS Isley sank Italian submarine Scirè with depth charges 7 miles off Haifa, Palestine; 55 were killed. |
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» Borghese, Junio Valerio
Event(s) Participated:
» Underwater Raid of Alexandria
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Lt. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, at Guadalcanal
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31 Oct 2013 12:43:30 PM
Lieutenant Commander Prince Valerio Borghese, who commanded the Scire, the mother-ship for the launching of the two-man SLCs (siluro a lenta corsa) "Maiale" submersible torpedo craft in the attack on Alexandria, is described as a most accurate navigator and a brave and resourceful officer, who virtually dictated the tactical operational employment of the submersibles. The submarine, itself, had been adapted to carry the torpedos in watertight steel tubes which were mounted on the deck after the boat's gun had been removed. Commander Ernesto Forza, the able and courageous chief of the Italian 10th Flotilla based at La Sperzia, which included the submersible group, was his immediate superior.