SS Thistlegorm:

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All aboard the SS Thistlegorm: Divers explore the rusting trains, trucks and motorbikes on the WWII British munitions ship sunk by a German bomber off the coast of Egypt:

A piece of history frozen in time beneath the waves has been documented in amazing photographs.


The SS Thistlegorm shipwreck, a British munitions ship sunk by a German bomber in 1941 off the coast of Egypt, lays undisturbed.


Now turned into a world-class diving site, the wreckage provides a fascinating insight into the past.


The merchant ship is in the Straits of Gubal in the Northern Red Sea and time has stood still for the supply ship which still has its cargo on board.

Built in Sunderland, the SS Thistlegorm completed three voyages to the USA, Argentina and the West Indies before it's ill-fated mission to Suez.

Built: January 1941


Type: Steamship, single screw

Gross Tonnage: 4898 tonnes

Length: 415 feet/126m

Sale price: £115,000

Launched: 9th April 1940

Voyages:

1) USA to bring back steel rails and aircraft parts
2) Argentina, returning with grain
3) West Indies for sugar and rum
4) Final voyage to Suez

Crew: 41

Bombed: 6th October 1941

Casualties: 9

Depth: Deepest - 30m Shallowest - 13m

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LINK 2

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SS Thistlegorm images released by Nottingham University

New 3D images of one of the world's best known World War Two dive sites have been released to the public.
British merchant steam ship SS Thistlegorm was hit by a German bomber in 1941 and lies on the bed of the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt.

A website has been launched to enable people to view the images.

SS Thistlegorm was carrying trains, aircraft parts, trucks and motorbikes, and heading to Egypt to support the allied war effort when it was hit.
Five Royal Navy gunners and four merchant sailors lost their lives.

The wreck has become one of the most famous dive sites in the world due to the clear water and military equipment still on board.
Dr Henderson, from the university's School of Archaeology, said: "The thing about underwater sites and the importance of underwater cultural heritage is that the only people who've ever seen it are divers.

"However, we are now at a point where we have the technology to reconstruct these sites."

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SS Thistlegorm:

KEAN, Fireman, ALFRED, S.S. Thistlegorm (Sunderland). Merchant Navy. 6th October 1941. Age 57.

ROLFE, Ordinary Seaman, JOSEPH MUNROE, S.S. Thistlegorm (Sunderland). Merchant Navy. 6th October 1941. Age 17. Son of Samuel Richard and Eliza Munroe Rolfe, of Hendon, Sunderland, Co. Durham.

SAKANDO KAHIL, Donkeyman, S.S. Thistlegorm (Sunderland). Merchant Navy. 6th October 1941. Age 49.

WATT, Fireman and Trimmer, ALEXANDER NEIL BROWN, S.S. Thistlegorm (Sunderland). Merchant Navy. 6th October 1941. Age 21. Son of Mary A. L. B. Watt, of Paisley, Renfrewshire.

DEMS

GIFFIN, Able Seaman, ARCHIBALD, D/JX 243308. H.M.S. President III. Royal Navy. lost in S.S. Thistlegorm. 5th October 1941. Age 18. Son of Francis and Mary Gimn, of Ballymena, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland.

KAIN, Able Seaman, ARTHUR, D/JX 243316. H.M.S. President III. Royal Navy. lost in S.S. Thistlegorm. 6th October 1941

MASTERSON, Able Seaman, DONALD, C/SSX 12629, S.S. Thistlegorm, Royal Navy. 5 October 1941. Age 32. Son of Thomas William and Edith Mary Masterson; husband of Violet Masterson, of Isleworth, Middlesex

TODDS, Able Seaman, CHRISTOPHER TRAVERS, D/JX 243317. H.M.S. President III. Royal Navy. lost in S.S. Thistlegorm. 5th October 1941

WOOLAGHAN, Able Seaman, THOMAS, D/JX 237855. H.M.S. President III. Royal Navy. lost in S.S. This-tlegorm. 5th October 1941. Age 24. Son of Mrs. A. Woolaghan, of Morecambe, Lancashire.

Information provided by Billy McGee.

"Across the seas where the great waves grow, there are no fields for the poppies to grow, but its a place where Seamen sleep, died for their country, for you and for peace" (Billy McGee 2011)