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Red Sea, Egypt

SS Thistlegorm

A WWII arsenal frozen in time: motorbikes, trucks and two steam locomotives on the Red Sea floor.

SS Thistlegorm
Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0
Depth
14–30 m
Sank
1941
Built
1940
Length
126 m
Tonnage
4,898 GRT
Type
Cargo ship
Cause
War

The ship

J.L. Thompson and Sons launched her at Sunderland on 9 April 1940 for the Albyn Line. She sailed under the British civil ensign with 41 crew and nine naval gunners. Her final cargo included Bedford trucks, motorcycles, Bren guns, rifles, ammunition, aircraft parts and railway wagons. It also included two LMS Stanier 8F locomotives.

How she sank

She was bound for Alexandria with supplies for the Allied army in North Africa. In September 1941 she was held at Safe Anchorage F in the Gulf of Suez. A collision had blocked the Suez Canal. On 6 October 1941 German He 111 bombers struck her. Both bombs hit hold 4 (cargo space) near the stern. The ammunition stored there exploded.…

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