The SS Thistlegorm was a British-armed Merchant Navy ship built in Sunderland, England in 1940 by Joseph Thompson & Son. The SS Thistlegorm was launched in April 1940 by the Sunderland shipyard Joseph Thompson & Sons for the Albyn Line. She was propelled by a 365 horsepower triple-expansion steam engine (272 kW) The ship was privately owned but partially sponsored by the British government, and it was designated as an armed freighter. She was armed with a 4.7-inch (120-mm) anti-aircraft gun and a heavy-caliber machine gun installed to the ship’s stern after construction. She was one of several “Thistle” ships owned and operated by the Albyn Line, which was created in 1901 and was located in Sunderland at the time of the onset of World War II.
Following its debut, the vessel completed three successful cruises. The first was to gather steel rails and aviation components in the United States, the second to Argentina for grain, and the third to the West Indies for rum. She had been repaired in Glasgow before to her fourth and final trip.
Bedford trucks, Universal Carrier armored vehicles, Norton 16H and BSA motorbikes, Bren guns, crates of ammo, and 0.303 rifles, as well as radio equipment, Wellington boots, aircraft components, railway trains, and two LMS Stanier Class 8F steam locomotives, were among the ship’s cargo. These steam locomotives, along with their coal and water tenders, were carried as deck freight for the Egyptian Railways. The remainder of the shipment was destined for the Allied forces in Egypt. Thistlegorm embarked from Glasgow in June as part of the Western Desert Force, which became part of the newly established Eighth Army in September 1941. The ship’s crew, led by Captain William Ellis, was bolstered by nine navy soldiers to man the machine gun and anti-aircraft gun.
Because of German and Italian naval and air force action in the Mediterranean, the Thistlegorm sailed as part of a convoy through Cape Town, South Africa, where she refueled before continuing north up Africa’s east coast and into the Red Sea. The light cruiser HMS Carlisle joined the convoy as it left Cape Town. The convoy was unable to traverse the Suez Canal to reach the port of Alexandria due to a collision, and instead anchored at Safe Anchorage F in September 1941, where she stayed until her destruction on October 6, 1941. The HMS Carlisle was also docked in the same location.
Two Heinkel He 111 aircraft from the II Staffeln, Kampfgeschwader 26, Luftwaffe, were sent from Crete to locate and destroy the troop ship. Although this search was unsuccessful, one of the bombers located the vessels anchored in Safe Anchorage F. They dropped two bombs on the Thistlegorm, both of which impacted hold 4 at the stern of the ship at 0130 on October 6. The detonation of the bomb and part of the ammunition stowed in hold 4 caused the Thistlegorm to sink, killing four sailors and five members of the Royal Navy gun crew. HMS Carlisle picked up the survivors. Captain Ellis received the OBE for his actions following the explosion, while Angus McLeay, a crew member, received the George Medal and the Lloyd’s War Medal for Bravery at Sea for saving another crew member. The majority of the cargo stayed on board, except the exception of the steam locomotives from the deck load, which were blown off to either side of the disaster.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau found her in the early 1950s with information from local fishermen local fishermen. He recovered a motorbike, the captain’s safe, and the ship’s bell from the wreckage. The ship’s bell is visible in the February 1956 issue of National Geographic, as are Cousteau’s divers in the ship’s Lantern Room. Cousteau described his dives on the wreck in The Living Sea.
Except for local fishermen, the place was forgotten after Cousteau’s visit. Sharm el-Sheikh began to grow as a diving destination in the early 1990s. Following the visit of the dive boat Poolster, recreational diving on the Thistlegorm resumed with information from another Israeli fishing boat captain.
Because of the enormous explosion that sank her, much of her midship superstructure was blasted away, making the remains relatively accessible to divers. The maximum depth of roughly 30 m (100 ft) is perfect for diving without the requirement for specialized equipment or expertise.
Many divers visit the wreck because of the amount of cargo that can be seen and examined. Boots and bikes may be seen in Hold No. 1. Hold No. 2 contains trucks, motorbikes, Wellington boots, weapons, Westland Lysander wings, roughly twenty Bristol Mercury radial engine exhaust rings and a handful of cylinders, and Bristol Blenheim bomber tail aircraft. There are also Universal Carrier armoured vehicles, RAF trolley accumulators, and two Pundit Lights. One of the steam locomotives that had been stowed as deck freight may be located off the port side of the wreck level with the explosion area, while the other locomotive can be seen off the starboard side level with Hold No. 2.
Natural corrosion is causing the wreck to disintegrate quickly. Divers who rely on the ruin for a living are also breaking it apart by tying their boats to weak areas of the ship, causing parts of it to collapse. As a result, the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA), a non-governmental organization, erected thirty-two permanent mooring buoys and bore holes in the wreck in December 2007. The vessel was closed to recreational diving at this time.
However, none of these moorings were still in place as of 2009 since the blocks themselves were too light (resulting in ships pulling them) and the ropes connecting the moorings to the wreck were too lengthy (meaning with the strong currents in the area, people would find it impossible to transfer from the mooring to the actual wreck). As a result, all boats are now moored straight to the wreck.
Tuna, barracuda, Batfish, Morey eel, Lionfish, Stonefish, Crocodilefish, Scorpionfish, and Sea turtle are some of the most fascinating fauna seen near the site.