In the meantime, the Artiglio was sent to the island of Belle Île, in the northwest of France, to recover the Florence H, which sank in 1917, carrying a large quantity of explosives, on the harbor front obstructing the passage.

The Artiglio, positioned by a fatal error of assessment at an insufficient distance, was destroyed by the explosion and sank in the Bay of Biscay between Belle Île and Houat, Morbihan, France.

The recovery occurred at a depth deemed impossible to reach at the time by divers, who used the famous "torretta butoscopica" invented by Gianni, dropped to -130 meters, to direct the work of buckets operated aboard the Artiglio.

[13] Congratulations were sent from all over the world, including from George V (King of the United Kingdom), Benito Mussolini,[citation needed] and then-communications minister Costanzo Ciano.

[14] Commendatore Giovanni Quaglia, a man of great business ability and foresight, was the forerunner of all modern high depth naval activities and recovery diving operations.

Unfortunately, he was also regarded as a person of few scruples and did not respect commitments with divers and crews that had earned both prestige and money, not bestowing awards and promised adequate compensation.

Aboard the Artiglio lived the journalist and writer David Scott, special correspondent for The Times of London, who promptly dispatched articles by radio.

The books he wrote are an important reference point for enthusiasts and historians, because they are so numerous and provide detailed information about the historical events related to the world of Italian divers at that time.