- SS Thistlegorm
The SS "Thistlegorm" was a British armed Merchant Navy ship built in 1940 by
Joseph Thompson & Son inSunderland ,England . She was sunk on5 October 1941 nearRas Muhammad in theRed Sea and is now a well known dive site.Construction
The vessel was privately owned and therefore not classified as a
naval vessel . She was armed with a 4-inch (102 mm)anti-aircraft gun and a heavy calibre machine gun attached after construction for war duty. She was one of a number of "Thistle" ships owned and operated by theAlbyn Line . With her construction being in part funded by the British Government, however, she was destined for "War" duties from the moment she was launched.Last voyage
The "Thistlegorm" set sail on her last voyage from
Glasgow on2 June 1941 destined forAlexandria . She was carrying supplies to relieve the 8th Army in preparation forOperation Crusader . As Germany controlled theMediterranean sea during this period, the ship had to sail in a convoy around the Cape to theRed Sea . In September, Captain Ellis anchored north of theStraits of Gubal at what is now known asShag Rock near Ras Muhammad National Park.The
Suez Canal at that time was closed as a result of a ship collision. For two weeks the ship stood moored at this supposedly safe position awaiting instructions to proceed through the canal. The "Thistlegorm" was a sitting target for two Germanbomber s returning fromCrete . Allegedly they were searching for a large troop carrier, believed to be the Queen Mary when they ran low on fuel, turned home, and stumbled upon the "Thistlegorm". They dropped two 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs directly onto the ship. The bombs penetrated No 4 Hold detonating muchammunition . The explosion killed nine crew members and was so forceful that it launched two railway locomotives stacked on deck into the air. They currently stand upright alongside the wreck at a depth of 33 m (108 ft)."Thistlegorm" sank immediately, leaving no time for the crew to operate the lifeboats. Instead, they jumped into the water and were later rescued by HMS "Carlisle", another British ship moored nearby.
Discovery by Cousteau
In the early fifties
Jacques-Yves Cousteau discovered her by using information from local fishermen. He raised several items from the wreck, including a motorcycle, the Captain’s safe, and the ship’s bell. The February 1956 edition of "National Geographic " clearly shows the ship’s bell in place and Cousteau's divers in the ship’s "Lantern Room".Rediscovery and recreational dive site
In the early 1990s the ship was rediscovered by an Israeli skipperFact|date=June 2007 and has become a well-known and often-dived wreck. The massive explosion blew much of her
midships superstructure away and makes the wreck very accessible to divers. The depth of around 30 m (100 feet) is ideal for diving without the need for specialist equipment and training.When she sank she was carrying a wide range of supplies ranging from rubber boots to an armoured Rolls Royce. Bedford trucks,
Universal Carrier armoured vehicles, BSA & Nortonmotorcycle s,Bren gun s, cases of ammunition, and 0.303 rifles laid muzzle to butt as well as radio equipment, aircraft parts, andLMS Stanier Class 8F steam locomotive s can still be seen.She was also carrying equipment for the Royal Air Force including: two pairs of Westland Lysander wings [http://www.schweboo.com/html/westland_lysander.html] , around twenty Bristol Mercury radial engine exhaust rings and a handful of cylinders [http://www.schweboo.com/html/bristol_mercury_engine.html] , Blenheim light bomber tail planes [http://www.schweboo.com/html/blenheim_bomber.html] , [RAF trolley accumulators] [http://www.schweboo.com/html/trolley_acculmulator.html] , and two [PUNDIT lights] [http://www.schweboo.com/html/pundit_light.html] .
Currently, the wreck is rapidly disintegrating due to natural
rust ing. Years of divers plundering the wreck for souvenirs have stripped the "Thistlegorm" of many of its artefacts; for example, most of the trucks have lost their steering wheels. The dive boats that rely on the wreck for their livelihood are also tearing the wreck apart by mooring the boats to weak parts of the wreck leading to parts of the wreck collapsing.In December 2007 the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA) began work on installing permanent mooring buoys and drilling holes in the wreck to allow trapped air to escape. The aim of this conservation work is to prevent further damage to the wreck.External links
* [http://www.red-sea-shadow.com/thistlegorm.htm Diving the SS Thistlegorm]
* [http://www.divemasterworld.co.uk/diving_diary.html Scuba Diving on the Thistlegorm in the Red Sea]
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