The Memorandum of Understanding between the Office for the Protection of Culture and Memory of Defence, the University of Trieste and the University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’ concerning the analysis of the remains of the fallen crew of the submarine Scirè, currently buried at the Military Shrine of the Fallen at Sea of Bari, was signed in Rome in the evocative historical library of Palazzo Marina. 

Present at the event were the Head of the Office for Protecting the Culture and Memory of Defence; Lieutenant General Andrea RISPOLI, the Rector of the University of Trieste, Professor Donata VIANELLI, accompanied by Prof. Paolo FATTORINI; and the Rector of the University ‘Aldo Moro’ of Bari, Prof. Roberto BELLOTTI, accompanied by professors Valeria SANTORO and Francesco INTRONA.

The Memorandum of Understanding regulates the analysis of the remains of the fallen of the Scirè submarine, with a view to identifying them. To this end, the Institute of Legal Medicine of the University of Bari will carry out anthropometric examinations, while the Institute of Legal Medicine of the University of Trieste will conduct DNA analysis. 

The two universities will receive 14 of the 42 ossuary boxes containing the remains of the fallen in order to perform a feasibility study to determine whether definitive identification is possible.

The Office for the Protection of Culture and Memory of Defence is responsible for the census, collection, provisional arrangement and subsequent definitive arrangement of the remains, as well as for the maintenance and custody of military burials, both in Italy and abroad, where the mortal remains of the Italian servicemen are laid to rest. 

This multidisciplinary study aims to provide a fundamental scientific contribution to give the fallen of the Scirè submarine a name.  The Memorandum of Understanding, signed by the parties involved, marks a new phase in the recovery and enhancement of the historical and human heritage linked to the Second World War and is part of the broader project to preserve and protect the memory of Italian soldiers who died in the war.

The Scirè submarine was not only a unit of the Royal Navy but became ‘legend’. Built at the shipyards of Muggiano (near La Spezia), it was launched on 6th January 1938. It entered service on 25th April of the following year and received the combat flag on 19th June of the same year. It became the protagonist of bold actions culminating with the raid on the port of Alexandria in Egypt on 18th December 1941, and with the damage of the British battleships Queen Elizabeth and Valiant.  On 6th August 1942, the Scirè met its tragic fate. It sailed from Leros to the port of Haifa. The British, however, managed to decrypt the messages encoded with the Enigma system and, at 10:30 on 10th August, attacked the Italian submarine with depth charges from the corvette Islay. Severely damaged, the Scirè emerged but was hit again and sank, taking all 60 crew members with him. On 14th August, on the beach of Haifa, the bodies of two raiders were found: Captain Egil CHERSI and PO Eugenio DAL BEN. They were buried by the British, with the honour of arms, in the cemetery of Haifa. They were repatriated in 1965. The other crew members were trapped at a depth of 35 metres. On 31st August 1942 the Scirè was declared lost in action. On 28th April 1943 it was awarded the Gold Medal for Military Valour. With the support of the Navy vessel Nave Anteo 42 bodies were recovered. On 15th October 1984, it returned to Italy, in the port of Bari. The crew now rests at the Military Shrine of the Fallen at Sea of Bari in a common shrine that welcomed men who lived, sailed, fought and died together. The lack of identifying features made identification impossible, and were all therefore classified as ‘unknown’. Unfortunately, 16 sailors still rest at the bottom of the sea. The submarine was sealed in 2002. On 10th October 2024, the Scirè became a military shrine, a silent guardian of valour, brotherhood and glory.