Spartaco Schergat (1920 in Capodistria - 1996 in
Trieste)
... was an Italian military frogman during World War II.
Schergat was born in Istria from an Italian irredentist and
as a voluntary entered the Royal Italian Navy ("Regia
Marina") in 1940. He was a friend of Luigi Durand de la
Penne, who enrolled him in the elite Decima MAS (XMAS).
He is famous for severely damaging the British battleship
Queen Elizabeth, with a "maiale", in 1941 during the Raid on
Alexandria. For this military action he received the Italian
gold medal in the Second World War.
After 1943, he collaborated with the Allies until the end of
the war, with the Royal Navy of Badoglio government in
southern Italy.
He was elected in the 1950s as deputy of an Italian far
right party (MSI). In 1996 Spartaco Schergat died, after a
long struggle with cancer, in Trieste.
The attack on Queen Elizabeth:
As part of a team of divers of the X MAS he took part in the
human torpedo attacks on British vessels in the
Mediterranean. In December 1941, Schergat was one of a team
of six (Luigi Durand de la Penne with Emilio Bianchi;
Antonio Marceglia with Spartaco Schergat; Vincenzo
Martellotta with Mario Marino) which attacked Alexandria
harbour. They used the new Italian secret torpedo S.L.C.
("Siluro Lenta Corsa", also known as "maiale"), a small
underwater assault vehicle with a crew of two. As a result,
four ships were damaged in Alexandria: the British
battleships Queen Elizabeth (by Marceglia and Schergat) and
Valiant (by Martellotta and Marino), and the tanker Sagona
with the destroyer Jervis. Spartaco Schergat personally
placed the limpet mine under the hull of Queen Elizabeth.
However, the two capital ships were in shallow water, Queen
Elizabeth settling on the sea bed, Valiant down by the bow,
but both maintaining the illusion from the air that they
were undamaged. Temporary repairs were quickly effected;
Queen Elizabeth was sent to the United States for permanent
full repairs, Valiant to Durban, South Africa. Both ships
were out of action for over one year.
This represented a dramatic change of fortunes against the
Allies from the strategic point of view in the central
Mediterranean Sea during the next half-year or more. The
Italian fleet - with the Alexandria Raid - had nominally
achieved naval supremacy in the Mediterranean Sea, called in
that year Italy's Mare Nostrum by fascist propaganda.
Decorations:
Medaglia d'oro al valor militare (Gold Medal of Military
Valor) - Alexandria 1941
Medaglia di bronzo al valor militare (Bronce Medal of
Military Valor) - Gibraltar - 1941
2 x Croce di guerra al valor militare (War Cross of Military
Valor) - Gibraltar - 1941 and Eastern Mediterranean Sea -
1941
Promozione al grado di sergente (Promoted to Sergeant) -
1941
source: wikipedia |
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