THE BATTLE OF
CONVOYS
War at Sea: The Mediterranean Struggle of WWII
During WW2 the Central Mediterranean sea was theater of a long and dramatic fight between the Italo-German and the British Commonwealth naval and air forces.
The three years long struggle was aimed on both parts in ensuring their lines of traffic and in contrasting that of the enemies.
In particular, the difficult task the Italian Navy had to face was that of supplying the Italo-German Armies who were fighting in the North African deserts. For the British the matter was that of interdicting that traffic, destroying the Axis supplies at sea, and to refurnish the strategical island and base of Malta. Dozens of ships and hundreds of aircrafts were sunk during the 38 months of uninterrupted fightings.
Since 2006 we are exploring the international waters and high sea of the Central Mediterranean, locating and documenting shipwrecks with the help of fishermen and historical records and accounts.
Field Campaigns
During our 17 field campaigns in that area we located 43 historical shipwrecks, 30 of which sunk during the WW2 Naval War in the Mediterranean and never dived before.
Once a shipwreck is located, an effort for its identification and documentation starts. Every year we keep adding new data, materials and discoveries. Many of the wrecks are extremely spectacular, with cargo holds full of military vehicles and supplies, colonized by an incredibly rich marine life.
During our expeditions we gathered hundreds of pictures and dozens of hours of footage.
Keeping the Memory Alive
One of the main objectives of the project is to produce and assemble high-quality documentary material for the development of educational publications and outreach resources. The aim is to harness the powerful fascination exerted by shipwrecks to engage the wider public with this dramatic chapter of history, which involved two generations of sailors, soldiers, and airmen from European and Commonwealth nations.
Through this work, we seek to commemorate the tens of thousands of individuals who, overwhelmed by the absurdity of war, lost their young lives while fulfilling their duty or were permanently marked by devastating physical or psychological trauma. These are stories that must be remembered — both as a tribute to those who lived them and as a warning to present and future generations.
Continuing Exploration
The documentation of the wrecks continues every year using increasingly comprehensive and visually compelling methods, including immersive 360° stereoscopic video, which offers viewing experiences remarkably close to an actual dive on the site, and full three-dimensional photogrammetric models of entire wrecks, created from thousands of high-resolution images.
This work is presented on the website UnderwaterHistory.org, conceived as a virtual museum of the shipwrecks from this battle. The site is updated annually with the new documentation obtained during the summer field campaigns.
Shipwrecks: Heritage and Risk
Shipwrecks represent a complex legacy. They offer powerful opportunities to connect people with maritime history, stimulate research and responsible tourism, and function as artificial reefs that support marine ecosystems.
At the same time, many wrecks pose serious and growing risks, as they may contain hydrocarbons and munitions that act as slow-moving environmental threats. Managing this dual reality is technically demanding and requires coordinated governmental action, international cooperation, and long-term commitment.
A crucial first step is understanding what lies beneath the sea: documenting wreck locations and conditions, determining their cargoes, and monitoring their progressive deterioration in order to build the knowledge base needed for informed decisions. This is where our work makes a contribution. In collaboration with Project Tangaroa, promoted by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, we focus on systematic documentation, helping transform unknown risks into shared knowledge.
