ScubaDahab
Updated 28 Oct 2026. Written by the ScubaDahab team, divers based in Dahab on the Red Sea.
The story
The Thistlegorm was a British armed merchant ship carrying supplies for the Allied forces in North Africa. In October 1941, while anchored in the Strait of Gubal waiting to enter the Suez Canal, it was hit by German bombers and sank. It was rediscovered by Jacques Cousteau in the 1950s and became a popular dive site in the 1990s.
What you will see
The ship lies upright on a sandy bottom at about 30 m, with the deck at around 16–20 m. The holds are still full: BSA motorbikes, Bedford trucks, Wellington boots, rifles and aircraft parts. Two railway locomotives lie on the sand beside the wreck, and the stern with its guns is broken off from the main hull.
Day trip or liveaboard
Day boats come from Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada, with a long boat ride each way and a busy wreck in the middle of the day. A liveaboard moors overnight nearby, so you can dive at first light or at night and do two or three dives on the wreck, including a penetration of the holds. That is why most northern liveaboards include it.
What level you need
Open Water divers can dive the outside of the wreck with a guide in good conditions, but currents can be strong. Advanced Open Water is recommended to see the deeper parts, and a wreck specialty for going inside the holds. Nitrox gives you longer bottom time.
