SS Thistlegorm

SS Thistlegorm — Red Sea, Egypt

The SS Thistlegorm is the most famous wreck dive on Earth — not because it's the deepest, the most dramatic, or the most technically demanding, but because of what's inside it. On the night of 6 October 1941, a German He-111 bomber flying out of Crete found this 4,898-ton British merchant steamer anchored in the Strait of Gubal and put two bombs through her stern. She sank in less than four minutes. Nobody touched her for 14 years.

In 1955, Jacques Cousteau located the wreck using coordinates supplied by a Royal Navy survivor, dived it with his team from the Calypso, and filmed the footage for The Silent World. Then, perhaps understanding what unrestricted tourism would do to it, he kept the coordinates private. The Thistlegorm slept for another three decades until Red Sea liveaboard operators rediscovered it in the early 1990s. Today it sees hundreds of divers a week.

What You'll Find in the Holds

The Thistlegorm was carrying war supplies when she went down, and those supplies are still there. Hold No. 2 is the one everyone photographs: BSA M20 motorcycles stacked in rows, their chrome handlebars still identifiable after 80 years of encrustation. Deeper in the same hold: Bedford trucks, artillery shells, and Lee-Enfield rifles still bundled in crates. Hold No. 4, at the stern, holds a pair of railway carriages and a steam locomotive — blown completely off the deck by the explosion and now lying on the seabed at 32 meters.

The upper deck offers equally striking imagery: a tank, Bren gun carriers, vehicle chassis silhouetted against the surface light, and anti-aircraft guns still swiveled in the direction of the attack.

The Dive Itself

Depth runs 16–32 meters, with the main deck at 18–20m and the deepest cargo accessible at around 30m. Bottom time at these depths is adequate for a thorough tour, but most divers do two dives — one for the bow holds, one for the stern and exterior deck. Visibility is typically 15–25 meters in normal conditions.

Currents can run strongly through the Strait of Gubal; the Thistlegorm is moored rather than drifted, so you descend the shot line and navigate from the wreck itself. It is a liveaboard dive, most commonly accessed from Sharm el-Sheikh (4–5 hours north) or Hurghada (3–4 hours northeast).

Practical Info

• Depth: 16–32m | Difficulty: Advanced Open Water or higher
• Access: Liveaboard only (overnight crossing required)
• Visibility: 15–25m typical
• Currents: Moderate to strong — dive with a guide who knows the site
• Marine life: Dense schools of glassfish in the holds, crocodilefish on the deck, lionfish in every overhang, large jacks and barracuda outside
• Season: Year-round; summer (June–September) has the calmest sea state