SS Thistlegorm - a brief history of one of the most beautiful shipwrecks

When I follow the fate of some vessels, I get the unmistakable impression that they were built only to rest at the bottom of one of the seas as quickly as possible and to be sensational diving objects. Years of work in the shipyard, enormous financial outlays, the efforts of hundreds of pairs of hands and one unlucky twist of fate that thwarts everything, collecting a tribute in the name of Poseidon.

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SS Thistlegorm, was built in January 1940, as a transport ship of over 9000BRT, in the shipyard of Joseph Thompson & Sons, in Sunderland. On 9 April the first and last owner of the vessel, which is 126m long and almost 18 wide, became the shipowner Albyn Line. Although privately owned, the ship was co-financed by the British government and classified as an armed freighter. She was armed with a 120mm calibre cannon to combat aircraft and a heavy machine gun located on the side of the ship.

During the Second World War, the ship was incorporated into the British Navy. Thistlegorm recorded 3 successful voyages. The first one to the USA, where she picked up a cargo of railway rails and aircraft parts, the second to Argentina for grain and the third to India for rum. Before sailing on the fourth and, as it turned out, last voyage, the ship underwent repairs in Glasgow.

Setting sail on its final voyage, it carried a large cargo of supplies for the British Fifth Army, stationed in North Africa. It consisted of weapons, motorbikes, trucks, car and aircraft parts, boots, two light tanks and two locomotives.

After sailing around Africa the SS Thistlegorm anchored in the evening of 5 October 1941, in the waters of the Red Sea, before crossing the Suez Canal the following day. On the morning of 6 October, anchored about 5 miles off the coastline of the Sinai Peninsula, she was attacked by two German bombers returning to Crete after an unsuccessful attempt to sink another British vessel, the RMS Queen Marry. Four bombs hit the ammunition store, causing such a powerful explosion that the ship stood upright and went down instantly. Of the 41 crew members, 9 were killed.

After the war, the diving legend – Jaques Cousteautogether with the crew of his famous vessel Calypso, found the Thistlegorm in 1955. The film that was recorded during the dives on the unlucky transport ship received the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The pioneer and explorer of the deep sea kept the location of the wreck secret and its rediscovery did not take place until the 1970s. For recreational divers, the SS Thistlegorm was only opened 20 years later, in 1992.

The British ship has found its final haven on the Shaab Ali coral reef, at a depth of 30m. Located between Sharm El Sheikh and At-Tur, it is a sensational tourist attraction and a frequent destination for diving trips.

As is usually the case, pure chance brought the SS Thistlegorm to an unexpected end. The ship was in the wrong place at the wrong time, falling prey to the Luftwaffe. For almost the whole world (except Cousteau) it disappeared for more than 50 years, after which it began its new life. Although the ship was not exceptional, due to a coincidence of many circumstances, it is one of the most interesting wrecksavailable to recreational divers. Due to its enormous size, it can be the target of many dives.

Source: www.ssthistlegorm.com