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1. SS Thistlegorm — Red Sea, Egypt
Sunk by German He-111 bombers on 6 October 1941; the most visited wreck in the world. Inside: BSA motorcycles, Bedford trucks, railway carriages, artillery shells. History perfectly frozen at 25 metres.
2. USAT Liberty — Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia
US Army cargo vessel torpedoed in 1942; beached at Tulamben until the 1963 eruption of Mt. Agung rolled it into the sea. Accessible from shore at 5-30 metres. One of the most densely colonised wrecks in the world.
3. Fujikawa Maru — Truk (Chuuk) Lagoon, Micronesia
Japanese auxiliary aircraft transport sunk in Operation Hailstone (17-18 February 1944). Hold 2 contains aircraft engines; the cargo holds hold ammunition, gas masks, and medical supplies. The most atmospheric WWII wreck accessible to recreational divers.
4. SS President Coolidge — Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu
American luxury liner converted to troopship; struck two US mines on 26 October 1942. 5,000 troops were evacuated. The wreck lies in 20-72 metres and contains a remarkable interior including a luxury first class lounge.
5. HMHS Britannic — Aegean Sea, Greece
Sister ship of the Titanic, requisitioned as a hospital ship in WWI, sunk by a mine on 21 November 1916. The largest intact passenger vessel on the seabed (269m long), in 120 metres of water — strictly technical diving territory.
6. SMS Cöln and the Scapa Flow Fleet — Orkney, Scotland
Seven German Imperial Navy warships scuttled by their crews on 21 June 1919 in Scapa Flow, Orkney. The SMS Cöln, SMS Dresden, and SMS Brummer are among the most intact. Cold (8-12 degrees C), dark, and historically extraordinary.
7. USS Saratoga — Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands
Aircraft carrier sunk during Operation Crossroads nuclear testing (1946). Lies at 40-55 metres in Bikini Atoll. Aircraft, munitions, and the carrier's entire fittings are preserved. UNESCO World Heritage Site.
8. MV Zenobia — Larnaca, Cyprus
Swedish roll-on/roll-off ferry that sank on its maiden voyage in 1980 due to a computer error. Lies on its side in 16-42 metres with 104 trucks still chained to the decks. Regularly cited as one of the best wreck dives in the Mediterranean.
9. SS Yongala — Queensland, Australia
Passenger steamer sunk in Cyclone Leonta, 23 March 1911; 122 lives lost. Lies in 14-29 metres near Townsville. Protected as a historic shipwreck; the marine life density — bull sharks, giant groupers, sea snakes — is among the highest of any wreck in the world.
10. RMS Rhone — British Virgin Islands
Royal Mail Ship sunk in a catastrophic hurricane on 29 October 1867; 123 lives lost. Lies in two sections at 6-24 metres off Salt Island, BVI. The bow section is penetrable and the wreck was used as the filming location for The Deep (1977).