Often referred to as one of the worlds top 10 dives, I feel very privileged to have experienced this unique piece of history which has resided at the bottom of the ocean for over 60 years. The Thistlegorm was sunk by German bombers during the Second World War in the Red Sea whilst on route to deliver supplies to the 8th Army.
The supplies carried by the Thistlegorm range from land mines, shells, Weapons, Bedford Trucks, to BSA Motorcycles and even rubber boots. Exploring the wreck is quite amazing as you see many of these items still perfectly intact, you notice that even the tyres on the motorcycles are still fully inflated, which is quite amazing.
A word of caution though, there is also a large amount of live ammunition on-board, and I must admit, it was rather worrying to see less experienced divers clambering around the wreck, without regard for what they were touching or bumping into. It isn't the easiest dive and therefore I feel dive masters or instructors need to assess the skills of their group before letting them loose in what could be a very hazardous environment. As a matter of fact the only real negative about this dive was the dive master, we were rushed and encouraged to forego our buddy checks, which we of course protested to, and completed our checks thoroughly. Amusingly, but also worryingly the dive master himself had forgotten to turn his own air on.
What makes the Thistlegorm such an amazing experience is more than just the wreck itself, it's the way in which it was sunk and the history. Exploring the cargo holds, and finding the cargo is a real reminder of her purpose and the point in time when the world was a very different place. I would thoroughly recommend diving the Thistlegorm and will certainly remember this as one of my best dives.
