Bombs Sunk This Ship In WWII – Now It’s A Growing Underwater Zoo

In the early morning of October 6, 1941, the SS Thistlegorm was sitting in the Straits of Gubal in the Northern Red Sea, near the Sinai Peninsula. It was in the wrong place at the wrong time: A pair of iconic Heinkel He 111 bombers were hunting what the German Luftwaffe thought was an Allied troop transport, but instead found a Thistlegorm. Legally, it only carried car parts, but in reality, it carried all kinds of military equipment, including guns, artillery, and vehicles – all for the British forces in North Africa.

At about 1:30 in the morning, one of the Heinkels dropped two bombs, hitting the number four aft of the 415 meter ship. The weapons ignited, causing an explosion so powerful that it split the body in two and threw two Stanier 8F locomotives (each weighing 73 tons) over. The ensuing firestorm was too bright to reveal the nearby Rosalie Moller, which was destroyed two days later.

The Thistlegorm sank into a “V” shape; the stern rested on the port side in about 105 feet of water, while the bow went down vertically in about 52 feet. Of the 42 men on board, only nine were killed, five of whom were Royal Navy personnel – presumably manning the 4.7-inch anti-aircraft gun and the rear heavy gun where the bombs fell first. This area has become a popular diving spot, where divers can see a variety of marine life, including barracuda, stonefish, and sea turtles (among others).

The Thistlegorm wreck remained largely forgotten until famous explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau rediscovered it in 1955. However, its popularity as a diving destination didn’t really explode until the 1990s. The now coral-covered structure has since become a haven — an underwater crawling zoo, if you will — for a variety of aquatic life, including lionfish, batfish, moray eels, and angelfish. However, perhaps the strangest of all is the alligator, a predatory predator that closely resembles an alligator.

Not only that, but dozens of military equipment that survived the initial destruction remain undisturbed in their open underwater spaces, creating an underwater museum of sorts. Two Stanier 8F steam locomotives, which descend about 100 feet to either side of the rear, can also be inspected. Divers can swim in the area up close and alone, but because wreck diving is so dangerous, only those with a logged depth of at least 20 are allowed inside.

SS Thistlegorm, whose name means “Blue Thistle” in Gaelic, was built in 1940 by JL Thompson & Sons Ltd. It was part of a range of cargo ships operated by the Albyn Line Co. Ltd., and was partly funded by the British government. Although it had a short life, the remains of the SS Thistlegorm endure as one of the most fascinating shipwrecks from around the world.