South Sinai Governorate

El Tor

Egypt

The Thistlegorm was built in 1940 as a merchant vessel being 126m long and 17.5m wide. It was commandeered by the navy during the World War II.

It sunk in 1941 (6th October) by long range bombers from German occupied Crete. It lays on a sandy floor at 30m deep. The top of the wreck is 17m.

The wreck is exposed to the tidal currents and the prevailing winds, which can make this dive inaccessible at times. Since the current can be quite string and there can be lots of silt in the water visibility can be quite bad. These conditions and the depth of the dive means that this is only open to experienced divers. 

Her deck cargo of railway wagons and holds full of trucks, jeeps, motorcycles and tyres is all there. You can do penetration diving, but ask your dive guide, all easy to find openings are well covered.

This is the most visited wreck of all Red Sea. There will be lots of dive boats and many many divers. Best dives are early in the morning, before all day dive tour comes to the wreck.

The Thistlegorm is located 5 miles north from the Sinaï peninsula, 1.5 miles SE from Sha'ab Ali reef.

S.S. Thistlegorm