On Friday this week, Fincanieri will launch a new FREMM Frigate of the Carlo Bergamini class, named after one of the men of the Decima Mas who successfully attacked HMS Valiant and HMS Queen Elizabeth in Alexandria on the night of 18/19 December, taking the two battleships out of the war for several months.
Naval Career
Born in 1920, he volunteered for the navy in 1940, and as he was friends with Durand de la Penne, joined the elite special operations unit Decima MAS. In this role, Sergeant Schergat also participated in two missions against Gibraltar, and was highly decorated, with the Gold and Bronze Medal for Military Valour, and the War Cross for Military Valour twice.
Operation G.A. 3
In the raid on Alexandria, he was the second crewman on SLC (Siluro a lunga corsa – long-range torpedo) No. 223, under the command of Captain Antonia Marceglia of the Italian naval engineers. They executed what was considered a perfect, ‘by-the-book’ mission, making it in and out of the port undetected after placing the explosives on HMS Queen Elizabeth. They were both captured the next day. HMS Queen Elizabeth was out of the war until July 1943, when she joined the Home Fleet after extensive repairs in the USA.
Schergat was released from captivity in 1944. He remained loyal to the king, and supported the Italian co-belligerency. In late 1944 he planned for a raid on the Italian battleship Cavour, then in Trieste, but this was not authorised as it was considered pointless.
After the war he became a deputy in the Italian parliament for the far-right MSI party. He died of cancer in 1996, 76 years old.
Medal citation
Heroic combattant, loyal support to his officer, after having shared the risks of a tough, dangerous training, followed by the most demanding tasks, he participated with him in the delivery of a special submarine weapon which broached one of the strongest and most well-defended enemy naval bases, in an enterprise where the operational conception and the practical execution splendidly aligned, with cool bravery and selflessness of the men. Having advanced for miles underwater, overcoming varied challenges, providing valuable and loyal support to the officer, the vessel was attacked with steadfast bravery and mortally damaged. He followed his chief into prison, consistently refusing to provide the enemy with any information. A superb example of resolution in action and exceptional moral quality. – Alexandria, 18-19 December 1941
The Crusader Project 