The fishing boat "Sogliola" discovered on the seabed of the Gulf of Asinara

A wreck found at the bottom of the sea, in the Gulf of Asinara, a piece of history that tells the life of men who died in 1943, during the Second World War. After 80 years the discovery of the F111 "Sogliola" ship, belonging to the 10th Mas flotilla, built to transport surface assault vehicles, war weapons used by the commandos of the Italian Navy during the Second World War.

The boat was sunk by the British submarine HSM Safari on May 2, 1943, several sailors died while defending the homeland. Built as a fishing boat, it was then used by the Italian Navy. The British P211 Safari also sank the steamer Onda where seven of the nine crewmen died.

The extraordinary discovery was made thanks to the support of the Port Authority of Porto Torres, the Superintendence of Sculpture Heritage of Sassari and Nuoro with the superintendent Bruno Billeci and the group manager Gabriella Gasperetti, as well as the Asinara National Park. The discovery of the wreck was exhibited during the presentation at the Park Authority headquarters.

EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY – He had searched deeply, he had tried several times as an obsession to find that boat known only from books. Sighted at a depth of 53 meters off the island of Asinara in the marine protected area, the wreck of the steamer Sogliola F111 was discovered by the freediver Alessandro Masala. «A jolt of emotion, because there was good visibility and before my eyes it appeared between the stern and the center of the ship, 45 meters long and with a tonnage of about 300 tons», he says, «I knew I could identify her thanks to the collaboration of the former lighthouse operator of the island, Gianfranco Massidda, which allowed me to get closer to the point of discovery».

The exact area was reached thanks to a sonar. The steamer "Sogliola", built in Germany in 1924, was militarized on May 24, 1940. Subsequently assigned to the foreign piloting with the name of F111, in 1942 it became part of the X flotilla Mas in the service of the Italian Navy, used for the transport of assault vehicles, raiders to hit the enemy ship. On 2 May 1943, while heading towards Asinara, it was sunk by the British submarine Hsm Safari with 45 cannon shots. «The first thing I saw were the signs of cannon fire on the right side, a boat resting on the left side and facing the Asinara», added Masala, «I hope that with an appropriate reclamation the site can be made usable, a wreck well preserved at a minimum depth of 46 meters, and a maximum of 53". The same submarine Safari struck and sank the steamer Onda in May 1943.

At the headquarters of the Asinara Park the presentation of the discovery in the presence of the superintendent Bruno Billeci, the head of the underwater group, the archaeologist Gabriella Gasperetti, the mayor Massimo Mulas and the director of the Park, Vittorio Gazale. "In this extraordinary case it is necessary to strengthen the method of protecting the site to make it usable, therefore closing the action to enhance a find that offers the possibility of turning the spotlight on a cultural territory already rich in itself", said Billeci. "This discovery is in any case a tragedy of the sea of war and therefore work will be done for a historical reconstruction", underlined the archaeologist Gasperetti. «The find is at such a depth that it is protected, however we could activate a navigation control system for this site to avoid unauthorized activities in the area. It is a historic find for the military history of our country, so we believe we are creating a site dedicated to the memory of the crew and people who were victims of this event, also with an action of knowledge above the surface of the sea"