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History of the
Thistlegorm
The HMS Thistlegorm was a British cargo ship laden with military supplies for the British Eighth Army in North Africa during WWII. She bore 9,000 tonnes of munitions and war materials of all kinds - weapons, vehicles and items of uniform in huge quantities. In October 1941, a long-range German bomber from Crete came across a convoy of 20 ships and pinpointed the Thistlegorm, lying at anchor off Sha'b Ali, on only its fourth missio - she appeared to be carrying the largest cargo. At 1:30am in 6th October, two bombs hit the ship and fortunately only nine crew died when the ship was ripped apart by a huge explosion and sank.
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Cousteau and his team found the Thistlegorm upright on the seabed in the
Strait of Gubal when, in 1956, they went to the Red Sea to film Silent
World. The wreck was then 'lost' for 45 years until 1991 when it was
discovered again and more accurately charted. |
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The Thistlegorm's lies only 8 miles from shore and easy reach of a day boat from either Hughada or Sharm El Shiek. | ||
| The deck lies only 18m below the surface; the seabed just 30m down. The foredeck is well preserved and much of the original cargo - tanks, railway wagons, jeeps, motorcycles and munitions - is still in the holds. |  |
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Dive Guide
To be done...
General Info
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 Copyright © 2007 Chippenham Diving Club - BSAC1622 |