Diving the Thistlegorm

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.

For further information or to receive a monthly e-newsletter full of articles and scuba diving related advice, please visit our online dive store We also supply a vast range of scuba diving equipment as well as overseas dive property & dive holidays.