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Remnants of War: SS Thistlegorm

Inside Cabin

SS Thistlegorm was a British cargo steamship built in 1940. It was sunk by German aircraft bombers in the Red Sea in 1941.

Jeep Parts

The ship rests underwater in the Ras Muhammad National Park at the southern extreme of the Sinai Peninsula. It overlooks the Gulf of Suez on the west and Gulf of Aqaba to the east.

Deck Guns

The ship contained trucks, armored vehicles, motorcycles, guns, ammunition, radio equipment, boots, aircraft parts, railway wagons and two steam locomotives.

Jeeps

German aircraft dropped two 2.5-ton high-explosive bombs on Thistlegorm. Both of these bombs struck hold 4 near the stern of the ship in October 1941. The bomb exploded and ignited some of the ammunition stored in hold 4. This led to the sinking of Thistlegorm. The explosion caused the loss of four sailors and five defensively equipped merchant ship (DEMS) gunners.

Tires and Parts

In the early 1950s, Jacques Cousteau discovered the shipwreck by using information from local fishermen.

Olga painting on the deck of the SS Thistlegorm

In the 1960’s, recreational diving began on the shipwreck. Today the SS Thistlegorm shipwreck hosts about 100 scuba divers per day.

More images from Egypt can be found here.

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