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THE MIGHTY THISTLEGORM A Masterpiece Amongst Shipwrecks By It
is an undeniable fact that the shipwrecks found in the Egyptian Red Sea attract
many hundreds of Divers back to Egypt year after year.
Of all those shipwrecks, however, one vessel sits mast and funnel above
all the rest and that ship is the SS
Thistlegorm. It is a fact, that
this single shipwreck has consistently remained “The
World’s Foremost Diving Attraction” since she was re-discovered in the
early nineties. After many visits, I found myself calling her “The Mighty
Thistlegorm!” The
Ship The
Thistlegorm was built by Joseph
Thompson & Sons of Sunderland and launched in June 1940. She measured 126.5m
(415 feet) in length, displaced 4,898 grt and was powered by a 3 cylinder
triple-expansion steam engine. She was one of a number of "Thistle"
ships owned and operated by the Albyn Line.
These were the dark years of WW2 and her construction was part funded by the British Government. Consequently, she was fitted with an additional armoured Gun Deck built over the aft section on which were mounted an old 4·7” gun and a heavy calibre machine gun - both of WW1 vintage. Unfortunately,
apart from the official photograph of her launching, there appears to be no
pictures of the Thistlegorm from her days afloat. The
Final Journey In May 1941, the
Thistlegorm was in Glasgow being loaded with supplies essential for the British
8th Army and the relief of Tobruk. These
included a wide array of land mines, shells, ammunition, Weapons, armoured cars,
Bedford trucks, Bren-carriers, trailers, vehicle spares, aircraft parts, radios,
rubber thigh-boots - and a great deal more besides. In addition, two Stanier 8F
2-8-0 railway engines, two tenders
and two water carriers were also being carried as deck cargo. Placed
onto the back of the trucks - three at a time to facilitate loading, were a
large consignment of BSA WD M20 motorcycles.
In fact, there were so many of these motorcycles it is probably fair to
say that the world's largest collection of BSA motorcycles is now found deep
within this ship. On
2 June 1941 Captain Ellis ordered the mooring lines slipped before easing his
ship out of Glasgow - a port that neither the ship nor nine of those on board
would ever see again. In addition
to a crew of 39, he was also responsible for 9 Royal Navy personnel who were on
board to man the guns. With
Axis Forces occupying almost all of the northern Mediterranean coastline, they
were routed to Alexandria via South Africa and, after refuelling in Capetown,
were joined by HMS Carlisle - a Light Cruiser of 4,190 tons.
The convoy then proceeded up the east coast of Africa and into the Red
Sea. By the time they arrived at the Gulf of Suez it was the third week in
September and the Thistlegorm was instructed to proceed to “Safe Anchorage
F” to await further instructions. The Master let out the starboard anchor and some 250m of
chain and, at long last, the main engines were closed down. All they could do now was wait for clearance to proceed
through the Gulf of Suez, the Suez Canal and on to Alexandria. A
few days earlier, two ships had collided and one of these had sunk and was
blocking the entrance to the Suez Canal. While
desperate measures were being employed to remove this problem, the queue of
ships waiting to use the canal got longer and longer.
This is why the Thistlegorm - with her vital cargo, now remained at
anchor for a full two weeks. Up
until now these “Safe Anchorages” had been exactly that, Safe!
No enemy ships or submarines could operate within the narrow confines of
the Red Sea and enemy aircraft were rarely seen. This all changed, however, when
German Intelligence received information that a large troopship was due to
travel through the Suez Canal with 1200 British Troops.
Heinkel He 111’s from “No II/26 Kampfgeschwader” (No 2 Group, 26th
Kampf Squadron) based in Crete were tasked to seek and destroy.
At
2250 hours on 5 October 1941 two twin-engine Heinkels crossed the north Egyptian
coast heading southeast in search of this prize.
They searched in vain and, just as they were on the point of returning
home “empty handed,” one of the pilots spotted a ship at anchor and
immediately bean his attack. He
approached the stern of the Thistlegorm and released two bombs which penetrated
No 5 hold. These detonated a great deal of the ship's own ammunition and
the resultant explosion sent the two locomotives spiralling into the air as the
ship was ripped open like a huge tin can. Even
today, those rear decks above No 4 Hold are peeled back towards the Bridge
leaving many a Diver wondering what exactly he is looking at. The
vessel was lost and the order to abandon ship was given. The Thistlegorm sank at
0130 hrs 6 October 1941. Captain Ellis and the other survivors were rescued by
HMS Carlisle and taken to Suez where he reported that four members of his crew
and five of the Royal Navy ratings had lost their lives. Captain Ellis was later
awarded the OBE - for “Services to the War Effort” by King George VI. The
Ship Today The
Thistlegorm remained undisturbed until the early fifties when Jacques Cousteau
discovered her. Once again, however,
she passed into obscurity until she was rediscovered in the early nineties. From that moment onwards she has remained the
"most" visited dive site in the entire world.
What makes this ship so extra-special is a combination of several
factors. Despite extensive damage
aft, she is upright and on an even keel. Add to this Egypt's acceptable climate
and relatively warm waters and a maximum depth of just 32m to the seabed. On top
of all that there is the Cargo and in this case that cargo is a veritable
underwater “World War II Museum.” Diving
the Thistlegorm I
well remember how I found myself contemplating my very visit to the Thistlegorm.
This was long-overdue and, it must be said that, as I entered the water,
I was wondering whether or not any
shipwreck could live up to the hype which had gone before.
We followed a rope halfway down and then crossed to the Bridge just as
soon as it came into view. Dropping
down in front of that structure we suddenly a row of vehicles on the starboard
side of No 2 “tweendecks” - exactly as described in some of the many
accounts I had studied. Below these we found another level with sufficient room to swim into the hold, over the tops of many more vehicles still parked as though, even now, they were waiting to be unloaded. Behind each cab, we found three motorcycles. With the powerful modelling lights from the twin strobes of my underwater camera illuminating this incredible scene, it suddenly became all too obvious why so many “downbeat” articles have also been written about this single shipwreck. The
motorcycles have been pushed over by Divers searching for something to remove
and keep. The badges, pedals, twist
grips and tool kits are all gone. As
for the lorries and trucks, there are only a few steering wheels left - but that
is not all. In order to get at
those steering wheels or, in some cases a souvenir from the engine, Divers have
smashed their way in through the roof or bonnet of each vehicle - thus
maximising the damage caused in search of their wretched trophy. Perhaps those writers who have published photographs of these stolen goods have the answer... Strong words I know, but all Egyptian shipwrecks are protected by law and anything taken from them is simple theft! Despite
the manner of her sinking and the ongoing destruction, the Thistlegorm
is still in a remarkable condition. The front two thirds or so remain largely
intact and sit upright on a sandy seabed at a maximum depth of 32 metres. The starboard anchor is deployed, some railings are still in
place and all the winch houses, winches, blocks, windlasses and other
paraphernalia are there to be found. Working
from Bows to Stern, the Diver drops down from the forecastle to the main deck
and is immediately confronted by two 4-wheeled railway water carriers on either
side of No 1 Hold - with the one on the port side resting precariously over the
Hold. Each
hold has two levels with the upper level being the “tween decks.” These are
like large shelves stretching under the decks allowing the ship to maximise it's
cargo carrying capacity. There are several vehicles and motorcycles on No 1 and
2 tween decks on the starboard side. On the port side, however, the deck is
damaged and bent downwards and, with the presence of that water carrier, perched
somewhat menacingly over the edge, this
side tends to be less well visited. Below these tweendecks inside No 1 hold much of the cargo has become an accumulation of debris. No 2 hold, on the other hand, is very different. At deck level there is a railway tender on each side of the hold beside which are two “torpedo” shaped Paravanes. Below the tween decks on the port side are two large Armoured Cars built on Rolls Royce Chassis - looking like a pair of steel boxes with tiny viewing holes for the driver. On the starboard side, however, there begins an incredible journey. Swimming gently above the vehicles, there is plenty of room to explore and inspect the various lorries, trailers, motorcycles and other items as you journey below the bridge and pass through No 3 hold. Here are the small arms - weapons of various calibre in packs of 6 or 8 placed “butt to muzzle” and each pack now concreted together as a single entity. Beyond this, is the fuel store - virtually empty after such a long journey. To one side, however, there is a large gap where the Diver can easily exit through the bulkhead into what should have been No 4 Hold. Emerging into the daylight, the Diver is confronted by the devastation and twisted metal that surrounded the sinking. Ammunition boxes form a large pile of fairly uniform debris - on top of which is an up-turned Bren carrier with it’s characteristic tracks. Further over to the left is another resting on it’s side. Jutting out from the fore section is the ship's broken drive shaft and some 20m further on is the remainder - sticking out of what is left of the stern. Below this are some very large shells - originally destined for a British capital ship. The stern itself is canted over to port at an angle of about 45 degrees and is as interesting as any other part of the ship. The two deck-mounted guns are still in place and make excellent photograph props. Turning around and swimming back - but this time above the wreck, we passed over the most extensively damaged section once again. Next is that decking which was “peeled” back almost as far as the Bridge - who knows what lies trapped below. Off the port side, are the remains of one of the two Stanier locomotives sitting upright the seabed. Then we reach that rope again and we are back where we started. We spend the next few minutes silently decompressing as we consider what we have just experienced. There is no doubt that the Thistlegorm s one of the most exciting shipwrecks accessible to divers found anywhere in the world and now we all understand why this ship has remained the World’s Foremost Diving Attraction ever since she was rediscovered - but for how much longer? |