SS Thistlegorm

The SS Thistlegorm was a British cargo ship laden with military supplies for the British Eighth Army in North Africa during World War II. She bore 9,000 tonnes of munitions and war materials of all kinds - weapons, vehicles and items of uniform in huge quantities. In October 1941, a long-range German bomber from Crete came across a convoy of 20 ships and pinpointed the Thistlegorm, lying at anchor off Sha'ab Ali, on only its fourth mission - she appeared to be carrying the largest cargo. At 1:30am in 6th October, two bombs hit the ship and nine crew died when the ship was ripped apart by a huge explosion and sank.

Jacques Cousteau and his team found the Thistlegorm upright on the seabed in the Strait of Gubal when, in 1956, they went to the Red Sea to film Silent World. The wreck was then 'lost' for 45 years until 1991 when it was discovered again and more accurately charted.