The Italian submarine "Shira" in Haifa Bay/photo: Amir Weizman, AQUAZOOM + illustration by Fabio
An underwater site was marked as a historical site for the first time in Israel.
This is the Italian submarine "Shira" (Scire), sunk by the British in the Haifa Bay area during World War II.
The designation of "Shira" as a historical site was initiated by Prof. Ehud Galili from the University of Haifa, under the joint leadership of the Marine Mapping Division at the Israel Mapping Center (MPI) and the Council for the Preservation of Heritage Sites in Israel, as the first step in a move aimed at the state's statutory recognition of this site, and the sites Others who were part of the British defense system in the Haifa area.
A British attack in 1942 resulted in her sinking and the death of 60 crew members.
The Italian submarine "Shira"/Haggai Nativ
Anchor chain of the US Navy ship that damaged the Shira submarine 2016/Ehud Galili
Some historical background
"Shira", a submarine weighing about 680 tons, was launched in 1938 and during World War II took part in several attacks and raids against a series of British targets.
The most prominent of them was the raid on the port of Alexandria in December 1941, in which it managed to sink a number of British vessels, including two battleships.
Following this raid, the British installed underwater detection systems in several of the other Mediterranean ports under their control, including the port of Haifa.
The base of the system for locating submarines was in Stella Maris, and it included observation posts on the Carmel Ridge and the Garden of Galilee, to which were connected cable systems laid on the seabed in the form of loops.
The system picked up changes in the current that created large bodies made of iron that passed over it and sent an alert to the coast.
On August 10, 1942, this system identified "Shira", which was sent by the Italian Navy headquarters to attack the port of Haifa.
A combined British attack, which included the dropping of depth charges and cannon fire from the Stella Maris batteries, resulted in the sinking of the Italian submarine and the death of about 60 of its crew.
The place where "Shira" sank, about 30 meters below sea level, was known, and already in 1950 the Israeli Navy reported it to the Italian Navy.
In 1963, at the initiative of the families of the submarine sailors, an Italian civil society arrived in Haifa, which carried out dives at the site, but reported that they were unable to locate human remains.
Parts of the submarine were salvaged and moved to Italy, where they were placed at several memorial sites, but the crew members themselves were considered missing for nearly 40 years.
In 1982, as part of a survey dive he conducted, Ehud Galili, one of Israel's top marine archaeologists, managed to enter the rear torpedo room of the "Shira", and among other things, located and documented the remains of dozens of crew members there.
Galili immediately reported the findings to the authorities in Italy, and in 1984 the remains of 42 people were recovered from the submarine and buried at a memorial site in the city of Bari.
The rest of the crew are still listed as missing.
The submarine Shira Simon is marked on the map/courtesy of the Israel Mapping Center
The Shira submarine sinking in the sea of Haifa with the rear torpedo room and human bones in it, 1982/Ehud Galili
The military maneuver that hit the submarine in 2002
Since the 1980s, Prof. Galili, together with the Italian Navy and other officials, has been working to protect "Shira" and recognize it as a heritage and memorial site, as well as an important link in the history of the area and the battles that took place there.
Over the years, the need and importance of completing these steps increased in light of the damage to the "Shira", chiefly the heavy damage caused to the hull of the submarine and the command bridge in 2002, during a joint maneuver of the US Navy and the Israeli Navy, which led to an official protest by Italy to the governments of Israel and the US In 2022
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the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted the authorities in Israel, requesting that steps be taken to ensure the preservation of the submarine, which is a significant historical and memorial site. As part of these efforts, last summer Prof. Galili contacted Roni Sade, Director of the Maritime Mapping Division at the Israel Mapping Center, and the Council for the preservation of sites, in order to promote a move to declare "Shira" as an underwater historical site. The need for this move has increased greatly recently, due to the works in the new Gulf port and the expansion of its mooring areas. According to Prof. Galili, not only is the Gulf an active area with a lot of traffic, and that it is It is not defined as a nature reserve or a declared antiquities site and is therefore not statutorily protected - the main danger to the submarine created by the new situation in the area is the possibility that an anchor dropped by one of the ships will damage "Shira" and destroy it completely.
Following the joint move, the exact location of "Shira" was updated on the electronic nautical charts of Mapi, and soon the other maps will be updated accordingly.
The marking of the submarine will help preserve the site and prevent damage to it by anchored ships.
From right to left: Head of the Marine Mapping Division at the Israel Mapping Center Roni Sade, Prof. Ehud Galili and CEO of the Site Preservation Council Omri Shalmon/Yel Atkin
One year commemorative dive with former Italian naval commando commander Francesco Chione, and Dr. Fabio Roberti who did his doctorate on the submarine "Shira"/Amir Weizmann, AQUAZOOM
A wreath in memory of the fallen was placed as part of the memorial dive/Amir Weizman, AQUAZOOM
"A unique historical fabric that must be nurtured and preserved"
Prof. Ehud Galili, University of Haifa: "We see the British defense system in Haifa - which includes observation posts, smokehouses and gun batteries on land, as well as the submarine site and the submarine cable systems in the sea - as a unique historical fabric that must be nurtured and preserved. The Council for the Preservation of Sites, together with the Center To map Israel, the planning authorities at Haifa Municipality and the University of Haifa continue the initiative to preserve these sites and make them accessible to the public."
Roni Sade, Head of the Maritime Mapping Division at the Israel Mapping Center: "This is a first and important practical and conscious move to preserve a piece of history that lies on the seabed of Israel. As part of the tasks of the Maritime Mapping Division, we manage a comprehensive data base on the maritime space, and are in working relationships with entities equivalents abroad, including the British Admiralty.
We were happy to cooperate with Prof. Galili and the Council for the Preservation of Sites, and we are preparing to jointly lead further announcements of underwater sites of interest."
Yael Atkin, Director of the Tel Aviv District of the Council for the Preservation of Sites and who led the issue on her behalf: "There is no doubt that the previous move is a landmark During a blessed nationwide effort to promote the recognition of underwater sites and their remains as heritage sites, and the statutory recognition of these sites by the state bodies. The challenge we face now, after the "Shira" precedent, will be the recognition of these remains by virtue of the Fourth Addendum to the Planning and Construction Law - that is, those that will not only be marked on maps , but also for legal protection on behalf of the state".
More on the same topic:
Submarines
Haifa Bay
submarine
World War II
Britons