 Steam windlass and mooring winches aboardThistlegorm | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Owner | Albyn Line |
| Operator | Albyn, Black & Co |
| Port of registry | Sunderland |
| Builder | J.L. Thompson and Sons,Sunderland |
| Yard number | 599 |
| Launched | 9 April 1940 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs KW Black |
| Completed | 24 June 1940 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Sunk by German aircraft 6 October 1941 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Cargo ship |
| Tonnage | 4,898 GRT, 2,750 NRT |
| Displacement | c.13,000 tons fully loaded |
| Length | 415.1 ft (126.5 m) |
| Beam | 58.2 ft (17.7 m) |
| Draught | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
| Depth | 24.8 ft (7.6 m) |
| Decks | 1 |
| Installed power | 365NHP, 1,850IHP |
| Propulsion | |
| Crew | 41 |
| Sensors and processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
SSThistlegorm was a Britishcargosteamship that was built in Sunderland,North East England in 1940 and sunk by German bomber aircraft in theRed Sea in 1941. Her wreck nearRas Muhammad is now a well-known diving site.[2]
J.L. Thompson and Sons builtThistlegorm inSunderland,County Durham, as yard number 599. She was launched on 9 April 1940 and completed on 24 June.[3] Her registered length was 415.1 ft (126.5 m), her beam was 58.2 ft (17.7 m) and her depth was 24.8 ft (7.6 m). Hertonnages were 4,898 GRT and 2,750 NRT. The North Eastern Marine Engineering built her engine, which was a three-cylindertriple-expansion engine rated at 365NHP[4] or 1,850IHP.[2]
Thistlegorm was built for Albyn Line, whoregistered her at Sunderland. Her UKofficial number was 163052 and herwireless telegraphycall sign was GLWQ.[4]
TheMinistry of War Transport partly fundedThistlegorm. She was adefensively equipped merchant ship (DEMS) with a 4.7 in (120 mm) mounted on her stern and a heavy-calibre machine gun for anti-aircraft cover.[5]
The ship completed three successful voyages in her career. The first was to the US to collect steel rails and aircraft parts, the second to Argentina for grain, and the third to the West Indies for rum. Prior to her fourth and final voyage, she had undergone repairs in Glasgow.[6]
She leftGlasgow on her final voyage on 2 June 1941, destined forAlexandria,Egypt. The ship's cargo included:Bedford trucks,Universal Carrier armoured vehicles,Norton 16H andBSAmotorcycles,Bren guns, cases of ammunition, and0.303 rifles as well as radio equipment,Wellington boots, aircraft parts, railway wagons[7] and twoLMS Stanier Class 8Fsteam locomotives.[8] These steam locomotives and their associated coal and water tenders were carried as deck cargo intended forEgyptian National Railways. The rest of the cargo was for the Allied forces in Egypt. At the timeThistlegorm sailed from Glasgow in June, this was theWestern Desert Force, which in September 1941 became part of the newly formedEighth Army. The crew of the ship, under Captain William Ellis, were supplemented by nine naval personnel to man the machine gun and the anti-aircraft gun.
Due to German and Italian naval and air force activity in the Mediterranean,Thistlegorm sailed as part of a convoy viaCape Town,South Africa, where shebunkered, before heading north up the East coast of Africa and into the Red Sea. On leaving Cape Town, the light cruiserHMS Carlisle joined the convoy. Due to a collision in theSuez Canal, the convoy could not transit through the canal to reach the port of Alexandria and instead moored at Safe Anchorage F,[9] in September 1941 where she remained at anchor until her sinking on 6 October 1941. HMSCarlisle moored in the same anchorage.
There was a large build-up of Allied troops in Egypt during September 1941 and German intelligence (Abwehr) suspected that there was a troop carrier in the area bringing in additional troops.[9] TwoHeinkel He 111 aircraft of IIStaffeln,Kampfgeschwader 26,Luftwaffe,[10] were dispatched fromCrete to find and destroy the troop carrier. This search failed but one of the bombers discovered the ships moored in Safe Anchorage F. Targeting the largest ship, they dropped two2.5 tonne high explosive bombs onThistlegorm,[11] both of which struck hold 4 near the stern of the ship at 0130 on 6 October.[9] The bomb and the explosion of some of the ammunition stored in hold 4 led to the sinking ofThistlegorm with the loss of four sailors and five DEMS gunners. The survivors were picked up by HMSCarlisle. Captain Ellis was awarded theOBE for his actions following the explosion and a crewman, Angus McLeay, was awarded theGeorge Medal and theLloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea for saving another crew member. Most of the cargo remained within the ship, the major exception being the steam locomotives from the deck cargo which were blown off to either side of the wreck.[8]
In the early 1950s,Jacques Cousteau discovered her by using information from local fishermen. He raised several items from the wreck, including a motorcycle, the captain's safe, and theship's bell. The February 1956 edition ofNational Geographic clearly shows the ship's bell in place and Cousteau's divers in the ship's lantern room. Cousteau documented diving on the wreck in part of his bookThe Living Sea.
Following Cousteau's visit, the site was forgotten about except by local fishermen. In the early 1990s,Sharm el-Sheikh began to develop as a diving resort. Recreational diving onThistlegorm restarted following the visit of the dive boatPoolster,[12] using information from another Israeli fishing boat captain.
The massive explosion that sank her had blown much of hermidshipssuperstructure away and makes the wreck very accessible to divers. The depth of around 30 m (100 feet) at its deepest is ideal for diving without the need for specialist equipment and training.
The wreck attracts many divers for the amount of the cargo that can be seen and explored. Boots and motorcycles are visible in Hold No. 1. Trucks, motorcycles, Wellington boots, rifles,Westland Lysander wings,[13] about twentyBristol Mercuryradial engine exhaust rings and a handful of cylinders[14] andBristol Blenheim bomber tailplanes[15] are visible in Hold No. 2. Universal Carrier armoured vehicles, RAF trolley accumulators,[16] and twoPundit Lights[17] can also be found. Off to the port side of the wreck level with the blast area can be found one of the steam locomotives which had been stored as deck cargo and the other locomotive is off the starboard side level with Hold No. 2.[8]
In 2007The Times namedThistlegorm as one of the top tenwreck diving sites in the world.[18] The wreck is rapidly disintegrating due to naturalrusting. The dive boats that rely on the wreck for their livelihood are also tearing the wreck apart by mooring the boats to weak parts of the wreck, leading to the collapse of parts of the wreck. For this reason, in December 2007 thenon-governmentalHurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA) installed 32 mooring buoys around the wreck and drilled holes in the hull to allow trapped air to escape.[19] During this work, the ship was closed off to recreational diving. However, by 2009 none of these moorings remained as the blocks themselves were too light. Moored ships dragged them and the lines connecting the moorings to the wreck were too long (meaning with the strong currents in the area, people would find it impossible to transfer from the mooring to the actual wreck). All boats now moor directly to the wreck again.
Common interesting animals around the wreck aretuna,barracuda, batfish,moray eel,lionfish,stonefish, crocodilefish,scorpionfish, andsea turtle.
In February 2021 it was announced that Simon Brown was the winner of the General Science category of theRoyal Photographic Society's Science Photographer of the Year for hisorthophoto (aerial photograph adjusted to have uniform scale) of the submerged wreck ofThistlegorm, made from 15,005 merged frames.[20]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in October 1941 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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27°48′51″N33°55′12″E / 27.81417°N 33.92000°E /27.81417; 33.92000
