SS Thistlegorm

The SS Thistlegorm is regularly called the best wreck dive in the world, and few who dive her would argue. A British armed merchant ship, she was loaded with war supplies for the Allied campaign in North Africa when German bombers found her at anchor in October 1941. The blast tore open her holds and sent her to the bottom, where she has rested ever since as a vast underwater museum. She lies upright in around 30 metres, with the deck at roughly 16 to 18 metres, and the explosion that sank her opened the holds to divers. Inside and around the wreck you can still see Bedford trucks and stacks of BSA and Norton motorcycles, rifles, ammunition, aircraft parts, and two steam locomotives thrown clear onto the seabed alongside her. This is a serious dive: it is deep, often swept by current, and reached on a long day trip or a liveaboard from the Hurghada area, so it suits experienced divers. Big schools of batfish and barracuda hang over the wreck, and the history packed into her holds makes every dive unforgettable.

Highlights

• ✓A world top-ranked WWII wreck
• ✓Trucks, motorbikes and locomotives on board
• ✓Schooling batfish and barracuda
• ✓Deep, current-swept, for experienced divers

Wildlife sightings cannot be guaranteed. Final dive sites depend on weather, sea conditions, certification level and the daily operation plan - we never promise an exact site in advance, and neither should anyone else.