"Shira" • The Italian submarine that sank in Haifa Bay - an underwater historical site for the first time in Israel

For the first time in Israel: an underwater site has been marked as a historical site

The Italian submarine "Shira", which was sunk in the Second World War in Haifa Bay, was marked on nautical charts in order to protect it from damage and preserve it as part of the history of the area.

For the first time in Israel - an underwater site has been marked as a historical site. 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, and this as the first step of a move aimed at the state's statutory recognition of this site and other sites who were part of the British defense system in the Haifa area.

Some 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 she 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.

30 m below sea level water

The place where "Shira" sank, about 30 meters below sea level, was known, and as early as 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 and carried out dives on the spot, but reported that they were unable to locate human remains. Parts of the submarine were salvaged and transported to Italy, where they were placed at several memorial sites, but the crew members themselves were considered missing for nearly 40 years.

remains of dozens of crew members

In 1982, as part of a survey dive he conducted, Prof. Ehud Galili, one of Israel's leading maritime 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.

protect 'poetry'

Since the 80s, Prof. Galili has been working, together with the Italian Navy and other officials, with the aim of protecting "Shira" and recognizing 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", primarily 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 .

The fear that 'Shira' will be completely destroyed

In 2022, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted the Israeli authorities and requested 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 Marine Mapping Division at the Israel Mapping Center, and the Site Preservation Council, in order to advance the process of declaring "Shira" as an underwater historical site.

The need for this process has increased especially recently, following the works being carried out in the new Gulf port and the expansion of its docking areas. According to Prof. Galili, not only is the Gulf an active area with a lot of traffic and it is not defined as a nature reserve or a declared antiquities site, therefore it is not protected by statute - 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 .

'Shira' on the map

Following the joint move, the exact location of "Shira" was updated on Mapi's electronic nautical maps, and soon the other maps will be updated accordingly. The marking of the submarine will help preserve the site and prevent it from being damaged by anchored ships.

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. Haifa, continue the initiative to preserve these sites and make them accessible to the public."

Roni Sade, Head of the Marine 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 equivalent bodies 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 Site Preservation Council and who led the issue on her behalf:

"There is no doubt that the preceding move is a landmark in a welcome nationwide process to promote the recognition of underwater sites and their remains as heritage sites, and 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 law And the construction - that is, those that will not only be marked on maps, but also legally protected by the state."