As some of you may know I've just returned from a weeks vacation/diving trip to Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt.
Had 8 great dives, 4 of them where wreck dives at the SS Thistlegorm, a British armed Merchant Navy ship that was sunk by the Germans in 1941, and the Victorian steam- and sail-ship Dunraven (sunk in 1876).

Some facts about the SS Thistlegorm

The Thistlegorm was built by Joseph Thompson & Sons of Sunderland and launched in June 1940. She was 126.5m in length and displaced 4,898 gross tonnes. Powered by a triple-expansion, 3 cylinder steam engine that generated a very comfortable 365 nominal horsepower. She was one of a number of "Thistle" ships owned and operated by the Albyn Line. With her construction being part funded by the British Government, however, she was destined for "War" duties from the moment she was launched.

The Loss of the Thistlegorm
The Thistlegorm set sail on her last voyage from Glasgow on 2 June 1941 destined for Alexandria. She was carrying supplies to relieve the 8th Army in preparation for Operation Crusader. As Germany controlled the Mediterranean sea during this period, the ship had to sail in a convoy around the Cape to the Red Sea. In September, Captain Ellis anchored north of the Straits of Gubal at what is now known as Shag 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. Thistlegorm was a sitting target for two German bombers returning from Crete. Allegedly they were searching for a large troop carrier when they ran low on fuel, turned home, and stumbled upon the Thistlegorm. They dropped two 1000 lb (450 kg) bombs directly onto the ship. These bombs penetrated No 4 Hold detonating much ammunition. 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 33m / 108 feet.

Thistlegorm sank immediately, leaving no time for the crew to operate the lifeboats. Instead, they jumped into the water and were later rescued by the HMS Carlisle, another British ship moored nearby.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thistlegorm

More about the SS Thistlegorm
http://touregypt.net/VDC/Thistle.htm
Wreck drawing:
http://www.divesitedirectory.co.uk/d...stlegor m.pdf

The two dives I had there was really great.
It was a bit crowded there, with 10+ diving boats above the wreck, but we had a very experienced guide (67 years old and 10,000+ dives!!) who guides us through a route that we were alone on outside of the ship on the first dive.
The visibility was very good (20-30 meters) and the current wasn't too bad so I was able to get a few nice shots of the interior and exterior of the ship.
I've posted a few from the outside of the ship in the photo gallery now, and I'll post a few more from the inside of the cargo holds soon as well.

Some photos from the outside of the Thistlegorm:
http://www.military-quotes.com/media...ry.php/cat/524

More info will follow..

Nice photos, have you dove any of the wrecks in the Pacific yet? I'm hoping to do a trip to Truk sometime in the next year. Visibility is supposed to be so incredible you get vertigo looking at the bottom from up top.

The is a book called "the lost ships of Guadacanal" that has some excellent photography of both US and Japanese vessels/aircraft.

I believe some are divable (others are resticted as war graves). I'll give you the link if it tickles your fancy.

http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Ships-Gua.../dp/0446516368

Thanks, I'm looking for a map of the sea floor showing the off limits areas.

Hey Redleg

I notice that there is still exposed live Ordinance onboard SS Thislegorm, and they still allowed you swim near it?

Originally Posted by bulldogg

Nice photos, have you dove any of the wrecks in the Pacific yet? I'm hoping to do a trip to Truk sometime in the next year. Visibility is supposed to be so incredible you get vertigo looking at the bottom from up top.

I have unfortunately not been able to dive in the Pacific yet....
The visibility in the Red Sea is usually very good as well, normally around 30-40 meters but can get better than that sometimes as well depending on the weather and current..

very nice photos

I've uploaded some more images from inside of the cargo hold of the SS Thistlegorm now.

All of these pics are screenshots from movie clips I filmed with my digital camera,
so they may not be 100% in focus but you should be able to figure out what's in them (hopefully)..

You can find the new images here:
http://www.military-quotes.com/media...ry.php/cat/524
http://www.military-quotes.com/media...cat/524/page/2

Originally Posted by mmarsh

I notice that there is still exposed live Ordinance onboard SS Thislegorm, and they still allowed you swim near it?

Sorry, didn't notice your question until now...
There were no restrictions to where you could swim, so it's possible to swim up to all of the live ammo/ordnance that were scattered on, around and inside the ship...

Enjoy..

those are pretty awesome

It was pretty awesome to dive in there as well..
The Wellington boots was a pretty strange sight to come across in there..
Wellington boots inside the SS Thistlegorm