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.…
Dive the wreck
What divers see there month by month, how deep it goes, who can dive it and the dive centers nearby.
The SS Thistlegorm dive site →








